The Phoenix
by Phoenix Felor
Summary: A boy who's been transfered from California arrives at Hogwarts with his friend. Both are mischevious, and chaos is bound to ensue... (Better summary inside) Yeah, I know the idea of a transfer student is over-used, but 'tis my first story... be kind...
1. Chapter 1

Summary: A wizard student from California gets transferred to Hogwarts in his sixth year. He has a fascination with guns and fire (scary huh?), and he's in Harry's year. What? Do you expect me to tell you the entire story here? READ! Rating just to be safe and for swearing. There's also a chapter later on that has some not-so-kid-friendly content.

Rating: PG-13

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter & Co., only Phoenix and Peck. That's it, everything else belongs to J.K. Rowling.

A/N: Okay, I know the idea of a transfer student is getting old with fan fictions, but bear with me here: I have a twist. This kid is a pyromaniac and is a weapons fanatic (muggle weapons of course). Soooooooo, I present to you (drum roll) THE PHOENIX! (The first chapter is a prologue, the other's will be longer)

Chapter one: What the heck!?!

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

'Stupid alarm clock... will it ever let me sleep in peace?'

A boy with flaming red hair rolled over in his bed and, without looking, slammed his hand on the alarm clock to silence it. After successfully turning off the disturbance, the boy rolled back to his original position and started to fall asleep again.

Tap, tap, tap.

The boy ignored the tapping on his window.

Tap, tap, tap.

Still no response.

TAP, TAP, TAP.

"What the hell is so important! And why are you tapping on my window? It's called a door you dumb- oh, an owl. Sorry. Hang on, I'm coming."

The boy got up and opened the window to let the bird in. After entering his room, the owl dropped an envelope on his bed and landed by a water bowl and promptly started to drink. While the owl was drinking, the boy shut the window and walked over to the envelope.

"It's about time that damned wizards school in L.A. sent me the start of school letter thingy. I was worried they forgot to send 'em out."

Sighing to himself, the boy ripped the top off and took out the letter inside.

"Dear Mr. Blazen, as you know, term begins on September 1 blah, blah, blah."

The boy continued reading the letter in silence, his brown eyes getting bigger as he continued. He finally finished. Staring the letter, he reread it several times (particularly the end) to make sure he wasn't seeing things.

"I don't get this. 'However, due to an enormous influx of new students at White Magic's Academy for Wizards, several students need to be transferred to another school. Due to your phenomenal record and grades, the staff has decided to select you as one of the students to be transferred. You will be the sole student going to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in England. In a few days, you will get an owl that contains all of the information and items you need to get there. Good luck and farewell Mr. Blazen.'"

The boy was extremely ticked.

'I'm getting kicked out of my school and being transferred to another one? What about my friends dammit! I have a life you idiots! Give me some of my friends too! Well, at least there won't be any Paul (the boy referred to him as "The Spawn of Satan") at this new school...'

After the owl was satisfied with his drink, he flew towards the window and started to tap on it, indicating it wanted out. The boy, sighing, walked over and opened it. Almost as soon as that owl left another one came in. This owl is worth describing, for it is the boy's owl. He was a large owl, about the size of a Great Horned Owl, and had bright red feathers and brown eyes. He was a very confident owl who sometimes acted like an arrogant jerk. His name was...

"Flame! (A/N: I wasn't in a creative mood okay?) Hey buddy! It's been a while since you left on your hunting trip. Any good catches?"

The owl nodded.

"Good! Well, I just got this letter from another owl that I'm becoming a transfer student and I'll be attending another school in England called Hog-somethin' or other, so you're coming with me."

At that moment, he heard a small "Uh oh!" on his computer.

"Ah, ICQ calls. Hang on."

The boy dashed over to the computer and checked to see who called. After looking at the screen name, the boy started typing in response. Here's the dialogue.

-Hey Josh (That was the boy's name)!-

-Hey Peck. And It's Phoenix! Not Josh, Phoenix!-

-Whatever...-

-So, wazzup?-

-Did you get a letter saying you were getting transferred to a new school?-

-Yup. You?-

-Yeah. Which school are you going to?-

-Hog-something School of Witchcraft and Wizardry-

-It's Hogwarts by the way, and I'm going there too-

-No! My letter said I was the only student going to this particular school-

-Well the letter lied, 'cause I'm going too-

-EXCELLENT! I won't be alone! Alright Peck! See you there!-

-You too. Oh and, would you mind bringing your firearms? You never know when they might be useful...-

-Okay, whatever. BYE!-

-------------

That's the dialogue. The boy then fired up Internet Explorer and commenced surfing the net.

'It's gonna be an interesting year...'

Two days later, the boy was playing Halo on his computer when he heard a tapping noise. Pausing the game, he got up and walked over to the window and saw an owl, not Flame, waiting out there with an envelope. The boy assumed this was the letter from Hogwarts (He was able to remember the name correctly now) and opened the window to allow the owl entry. It swooped in and landed on the back of his chair, dropping the envelope from its beak into Phoenix's (A/N: Because that's what he wants to be called, we'll call him Phoenix) hand and then flew out. The boy tore open the top and began to read the paper:

"'HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCH-' yeah, yeah, yeah. Screw the introduction. 'Dear Mr. Blazen, we are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment. Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31. Yours sincerely-' More intro crap. Okay, the books..."

Phoenix took out another piece of parchment from the envelope that contained all of the books he would need. Looking down the list, the boy counted about 15 books he would need. He didn't need to bring anything "equipment", for he had everything he needed at his house, so he'd just bring them with him to London.

"Two electives eh? Well, that's easy. Magical Armor and Magical Weap- HEY! THERE ISN'T ANY MAGICAL ARMOR OR MAGICAL WEAPONRY ELECTIVES! WHAT KIND OF SCHOOL IS THIS? Ah well, let's see. Care of Magical Creatures sounds good. Okay, I'll do that and... Divination. I might be able to get some sleep in that class..."

Phoenix took out a third piece of parchment.

"'Mr. Blazen, due to the fact you do not know how to get into the magical world at England, enclosed are several pieces of important information: 1) The place where you get your supplies is called "Diagon Alley" and is located in London. To get there, you go to the "Leaky Cauldron", an Inn which is the gateway to the magical world in London. You go to the back where you will find a brick wall and a trashcan. Using the trashcan as a reference point, you will count three bricks up and two across, and tap the specified brick with your wand. You will then have access to Diagon Alley. 2) To get to the Hogwarts Express, you must arrive at King's Cross Station before eleven 'o clock. Your train is on platform nine and three quarters. We look forward to seeing you at the start of term.' Wow, no introduction crap. Amazing. Hey, what's this little piece of paper? Oh, it's the train ticket. Never mind."

The boy then turned to the owl.

"Well Flame, I guess I should tell mom that I'm off to London soon."

With that, Phoenix walked out of his room and towards the living room, where his mom was...

A/N: So, what do you think? Any good? Utterly brilliant? Really dumb? Tell me in a review! wink, wink


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Refer to chapter 1.

A/N: MUAHAHAHAHA! I've come to torture you again! Just kidding. Actually, I've come to give you my newest addition to the story. Enjoy!

By the way, this chapter is dedicated to the super-awesome sophianwin, who not only became my first reviewer, but also gave me an excellent, constructive review. Thanks .

Chapter 2: Off to London We Go!

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

'Why must my alarm clock torture me everyday?'

Phoenix rolled over and slammed his hand down on the alarm clock, but the beeping continued. Confused, for he never missed his target, Phoenix smacked his alarm clock again. The beeping was still going on. He tried again and again, but to no avail. After about his 7th try, he started to hear snickering.

'It had not better be who I think it is, or else someone is gonna be dead.'

The tired, sleepy, and extremely ticked boy dared to open his eyes and found the sapphire-blue eyes of his best friend looking back at him.

"PECK! YOU ARE SO DEAD! I AM GOING TO KILL YOU SLOWLY AND PAINFULLY FOR WAKING ME UP!"

At this, "Peck" started to laugh.

"Calm down Phoenix! I'm just waking you up! Jeez! I mean, today IS the day we go to London..."

"Oh yeah."

"Wow! He remembers!"

"Shut up."

"Why?"

Phoenix reached over to the other side of his bed, grabbed his assault rifle, and pointed it straight at his companion.

"Alright! Alright! I'll shut up!"

"Much better. Good thing you didn't know that I don't keep this thing loaded."

"Whatever. Well, now that you're up, we may as well go."

"Fine, but I'm picking our mode of transportation this time! I will NOT fly all the way to London!"

"Oh yeah? Then how are we going to get there?"

"Simple."

"How?"

"I'm not telling you."

"Why not?"

"You'll find out soon enough Peck. Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to get ready now. You can wait outside and entertain yourself with my computer."

"Sweet! Halo, here I come!"

As Peck bounced out of the room, Phoenix heaved a sigh and started to change into a pair of jeans and a T-shirt that had Flameboy (You know, the little fireball dude from World Industries?) on it. After putting on some socks and shoes, he started to pack is bags. Into one bag he stuffed all of his "equipment", from his telescope set to his cauldron. He put his broom, a Cleansweep, into another bag. As for his last bag (which was quite large), he put all of his "firearms" as Peck called them. From his Assault Rifle (which he fondly calls "Louie") to his pair of Colt .45 handguns, he threw them all in. Once the weapons and their ammo were in, he paused for a moment.

"Hmm, maybe I should bring along some blanks. Heck why not?"

With that, he tossed some of those in too. He also tossed in the "experiments" he and Peck worked on over the summer. What do I mean by experiments you ask? Well, Phoenix and Peck like to make magical weapons, like stupefy grenades or "JLC4s" (A timed or remote explosive that when detonated, sends a Jelly Legs Curse shockwave). They had started this over the summer and planned to continue doing it during the school year. After securing all his bags together, he performed a charm that decreased the weight of his bags (A/N: He lives in America, and the wizarding government there allows underage magic so long as it is in the home) and slung them over his shoulder. With that, he walked out of his room and over to where Peck was playing Halo.

"All ready Peck?"

"Yup, I've got my stuff right here. Including my experiments. You have yours I assume?"

"Of course. Need you even ask?"

"No, no, of course not. Well then, shall we get going?"

"Why yes, I think so."

With that, Peck and Phoenix walked out of the house, stopping to pick up some money and say bye to Phoenix's mom on the way (Now be good Josh! I don't want you causing any trouble at that school!). Once they were outside and they made sure no one was around, Peck turned to Phoenix.

"Okay wise guy, how are we going to get to London?"

"Easy. Flag down a Knight Bus."

"THAT'S your idea? That's it? That isn't exciting. That's boring!"

"Actually, they're quite entertaining."

"Oh? And how would you know?"

"I've been on one."

"When?"

"I had to get to White Magic's Academy somehow for my first year you know."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

"So, how do you flag one down?"

"Easy, like this."

Phoenix stuck out his wand hand (with his wand in it) in front of him for several seconds before a large BANG was heard and a blinding light erupted. Once the light died down, Peck saw a triple-decker bus that was a bright purple and had the words "The Knight Bus" on the windshield. A man hopped out and began to speak to the two.

"Welcome to the Knight Bus, emergency transport for the stranded witch or wizard. Just stick out-"

"Cut the speech, we want to get to London. How much does it cost?"

"Well excuse me for trying to do my job. Anyway, It'll cost you thirteen Galleons and two Sickles each. If you want a mug of hot chocolate as well, it'll cost you thirteen Galleons and four Sickles each. And if you want a bed, it'll cost you fifteen Galleons each."

"We'll take the beds."

Peck and Phoenix stepped aboard, paying the man, who was about 22 years old, the 30 Galleons.

"Your beds are on the third floor at the front of the bus."

"Okay, thank you sir. And sorry for cutting your introduction short, it's just that I'm not one for introductions. They kind annoy me."

The man smiled.

"Ah. Understandable, I guess. My name is Steven Stendleton (A/N: lame I know) and I'll help you if you need something. The driver here is Aaron Aardvarkis."

"Okay, I think we'll check out our beds now. Thanks again."

"No problem. We'll be our way then. I suggest you hold onto something."

"Wh-"

BANG! The Knight Bus shot off again and Peck was flat on his back, seeing how he didn't heed Steven's warning to hold onto something. Phoenix, who held onto a bedpost, let go and started laughing at Peck's mistake. His companion got up off of the floor and glared at Phoenix.

"Shut up."

"Let's go upstairs shall we?"

"Yeah, whatever."

"Knight to F6."

A lone black knight moved as he was told and removed a pawn from the board and trapped the white king at the same time.

"Checkmate, I win Peck."

"You always win Phoenix."

"Aw, cheer up buddy! You're better than me at Exploding Snap."

"True, true, very true."

"I think I'll go downstairs and see where we're at."

"You go do that Phoenix. I'm gonna catch some shuteye."

The red-haired boy walked downstairs and left his blond-haired friend to get some sleep. He proceeded to the front of the bus where Steven and Aaron were.

"Hey, where are we?"

"We are in Michigan, making our way eastward. We should be in London in about thirteen hours."

"Cool. I have a question."

"Shoot."

"How are you going to cross the Atlantic?"

"Fly of course."

Phoenix paused for a moment.

"Fly?"

"That's what I said."

"How high?"

"I'd say about thirty feet above the water."

The redhead looked thoroughly relieved.

"Okay. How long is it until we reach the ocean?"

"Oh, I'd say about five to six hours."

"Fair enough. Can I get a couple of chocolate frogs?"

"Yup. It's seven Knuts each."

"I'll take four."

After paying the man 28 Knuts, Phoenix took his food upstairs and walked towards his bed.

"Peck, you still awake?"

"Yeah."

"Got two chocolate frogs for you."

"Toss 'em over."

Phoenix chucked two of the packs at his friend and started to open one of his own. After eating the frog, he looked at the card.

"Hmm. It seems the Brits have different cards than we do."

"Good. I'm sick and tired of getting Billy Bojangles all the time. Who'd you get?"

"Some guy named Albus Dumbledore."

"I've heard of him. I think he's the headmaster at Hogwarts."

"Here's what it says: Considered by many the greatest wizard of modern times, Dumbledore is particularly famous for his defeat of the dark wizard Grindelwald in 1945, for the discovery of the twelve uses of dragon's blood, and his work on alchemy with his partner, Nicolas Flamel. Professor Dumbledore enjoys chamber music and tenpin bowling."

"Interesting."

"Yeah, I'll say. Who'd you get?"

"This dude named James Potter. It just talks about his life and how he was a powerful wizard who died bravely at the hands of- who the heck is 'You-Know-Who'?"

"Got me Peck."

"Well anyway, this guys seems to be pretty famous."

The two boys opened their second chocolate frogs, getting two more unfamiliar wizards.

"Well Phoenix, I'm gonna go to sleep now."

"I think I'll do the same. Wake me up in about 3 hours 'kay?"

"Gotcha."

So Phoenix and Peck dozed off while the Knight Bus continued on its course to London.

"Phoenix? Hey, buddy. You told me to wake you up in three hours. So here I am, waking you up."

"Go away."

"Hey, you told me to wake you up! So, WAKE UP!"

"Go away."

"Alright Phoenix, you leave me no choice. I shall return."

"Go away and never come back."

After a few minutes, Phoenix didn't hear anything from Peck. Thinking that the annoyance was gone, the redhead smiled to himself and tried to go back to sleep. That is until-

SPLASH!

-ice water was poured all over his head.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR PECK! I WAS TRYING TO SLEEP DAMMIT!"

"Hey, when you fell asleep, you told me to wake you up in three hours. I did as you told me."

Phoenix grumbled a bit, half-heartedly smacked Peck on the head, and got up off the bed.

"Well, now that we are both awake, we may as well work on another experiment. What do you think Peck?"

"Fair enough. What did you have in mind?"

"Well, so far we've only made weapons. I was thinking some sort of basic shield would be in order."

Peck rubbed his hands together.

"Well then, let's get started, shall we?"

"Yes we shall."

The two boys proceeded to make their shields, starting off by performing a duplicating charm on several of Phoenix's guns and melting them for the shield. Once they had the physical structure of their experiments, they began to mutter spells and wave their wands about, placing protective wards and mechanisms on the shields. They only stopped to go to the restroom or grab a hot chocolate. They were about halfway done when they heard a thumping noise, which stopped after about the third thump.

"What was that?"

"I think we might have lifted off. Lemme check."

Phoenix got up and walked over to the front of the bus. Sure enough, the Knight Bus was clear off the ground and over the Atlantic.

"Well, we're making our trans-Atlantic journey Peck. Let's continue our crafting."

They resumed placing absorbing charms and spells on their shields so they would be able to block curses sent their way. After three more hours of this, their newest experiment was done.

"Muahahahaha! My masterpiece is complete."

"I have one too Phoenix."

"Must you rain on my parade Peck?'

"Yes."

"Curse you."

"Go ahead, I'll just block it with this nifty shield I made."

"You first."

"My pleasure."

Phoenix readied his shield and Peck picked up his wand.

"RICTUSEMPRA!"

The curse flew at Phoenix's shield, hit it, and disappeared.

"Hey, it works. My turn. Fire a spell at me Phoenix."

"TARANTALLEGRA!"

A beam shot out of Phoenix's wand at Peck's shield. His shield glowed for a moment, then reverted back to it's original color.

"That was weird."

"Yup."

"I wonder wh-"

Phoenix never found out what Peck was wondering because at that moment, the curse erupted from Peck's shield and shot back at Phoenix, hitting him squarely in the chest. His legs immediately started to dance around like crazy.

"WHAT KIND OF CHARM DID YOU PUT ON YOUR SHIELD PECK!?!"

"I don't know. It must have been some sort of reflective charm. Pretty cool."

"Please perform the counter-curse for this Peck."

"Fine."

Once Phoenix stopped dancing, he walked over to his shield and started muttering again while waving his wand. Peck sighed.

"You aren't going to try and copy me, are you?"

"No, I'm putting a different effect on it."

"What sort of effect did you have in mind?"

"It's quite clever actually. You see, I'm making it so that the shield absorbs the spell and puts it into a holding cell, which I will soon make. This spell in a cell ("Hey! That rhymes!") can then be fired at something else. I was thinking that a later experiment of ours could use it. Sort of like an ammo magazine for one of my guns, but it holds spells and curses instead. Now if you don't mind..."

Phoenix returned to his work, muttering and waving his wand at the shield. After several minutes, Phoenix seemed satisfied with his work and started making his "cell". It took him a good hour more to perfect it. After clicking the cell into place on a port on the shield, he picked it up and showed it to Peck.

"Behold! I present thee with 'Thor's Shield'!"

"What kind of name is that?"

"A name that I made. Got a problem with it?"

"No, no. I'll call mine 'Peck's Shield'."

"How original. Thor's Shield is a better name that Peck's Shield."

"Is not!"

"Is too!"

"Is not!"

"Is too!"

"Is not!"

"Is too!"...

It went on like that for quite some time.

Four hours later, Peck and Phoenix found themselves in the country bordering London.

"Mr. Peck and Mr. Phoenix, we have arrived at London."

"Thanks Steven. Here's a three Sickle tip for your hospitality."

"Oh, you don't have to..."

"But I want to. Bye Steven. Bye Aaron!"

"You two be careful now, ya hear?"

"Loud and clear."

"Hey, that rhymes!"

The two boys walked off of their transport, and with another BANG, the Knight Bus had disappeared. Peck turned to Phoenix.

"Well let's get going."

"What else are we going to do? Stand here and talk for five hours? The city is over there (he pointed south), let's go."

So, with bags in hand and shields slung over their shoulders, Peck and Phoenix started their trip to London. After a 10-minute hike, the two made it to the city.

"Okay Peck, now we have to look for a pub called 'The Leaky Cauldron'."

"I know Phoenix, I got a letter too."

After another solid 30 minutes, the two found the pub. They walked in and saw several witches and wizards inside, having a Butterbeer or Firewhiskey.

"Okay Peck, it's August 20th, so we have a good 11 days to explore Diagon Alley. I also heard that this place has rooms for us to stay at."

"Well let's get a room then, shall we?"

The two boys walked up to the counter and a man who seemed to be pretty old walked out.

"My name is Tom. Can I get you two anything?"

"Do you have any rooms open?"

"Yes I do, as a matter of fact."

"What's your best rate for two people?"

"Well, I have a room that has two beds, a bathroom, and a living room with a fireplace that's going for eleven Sickles a night."

"We'll take that one."

"Right this way."

They followed Tom down a hallway that had several doors, probably leading to other parlors. Tom walked into a room that was on the left and held the door open for the two boys. Once they were inside, Tom snapped his fingers and the fireplace came to life with a roaring fire.

"Anything else I can get you?"

"No, thanks anyway."

"Anytime. Bye now."

"See you later."

Once Tom had left, the two boys threw down their bags.

"Well Peck. We have two options that I'm willing to take. Option A is to hit the sack. Option B is to start another experiment."

"I think I'll take A."

"A wise choice my dear friend, a very wise choice."

"PHOENIX! WAKE UP! WE SLEPT IN! WE HAVE TO GET UP!"

"What? Are we going to miss the tr- wait, It's not September yet Peck, what are you talking about?"

"I wanna explore, Phoenix!"

"Fine, I'm up. But let's have breakfast first."

After they got dressed and had breakfast, which consisted of eggs, beacon, and orange juice, Phoenix and Peck walked to the back of the pub to the wall.

"Let's see, what did the letter say. Was it two up from the trashcan and three across, or three up from the trashcan and two across?"

"It was three up and two across Phoenix. Now, do you want to do the honors, or should I?"

"After you Peck."

Counting three up and two across, Peck tapped the correct brick with his wand.

Nothing happened.

He tried again. Still nothing. However, after his third attempt, the brick started to wiggle and a small hole grew in it, growing steadily larger until there was an archway onto a cobbled street.

"Well, I guess the old sayings right: Three's a charm."

"Are you sure that's an old saying?"

"That's not the point."

They walked onto the street and started to look around, first checking out "Quality Quidditch Supplies". By the time they had checked out nearly every store in Diagon Alley, it was almost two.

"What do you say we have a couple of Sundaes at Florean Fortescues's Ice Cream Parlor?"

"Sure."

They walked over to the ice cream parlor and up to the counter. A man came out from behind the counter and walked up to them.

"What can I get you two on this fine day?"

"Two Ice Cream Sundaes please."

"That'll be twenty-two Sickles."

Phoenix handed over the asked amount and the man walked into the back of the store, coming back with the two desired Sundaes.

"Thank you."

"Anytime. Hope to see you again soon."

"Same here. Bye!"

As they walked outside, a thought occurred to Phoenix.

"Hey Peck, you did bring money with you, right?"

"Yup, about fifty Galleons. Why?"

"Just curious."

Once they had finished their treat, the two boys looked around some more, going back to the Quality Quidditch Supplies store again for a while. After about an hour of re-visiting stores, the boys were getting bored.

"Well Peck, if this is what we are doomed to for ten more days, I don't think I'm gonna make it."

"Me either. The boredom would kill me! There has got to be something to do."

"I think I have an idea Peck."

"Oh? And what would that be?"

"Okay, here's the plan..."

"Well! When I said I hoped to see you again soon, I didn't mean in an hour! What brings you here again?"

"We'd like a part-time job here. We don't want full wages, just a little extra pocket money."

"You'll have to talk to the manager about that. Would you like me to get him?"

"Sure."

The man behind the counter at Florean Fortescue's walked away, returning shortly with another man, who was eyeing the two boys with interest.

"Hello, I am Florean Fortescue. I hear you want a job?"

"Yes sir. Is that okay?"

"Why sure! I could use a little extra help. Here, come with me so we can work this out."

Peck and Phoenix followed the man to a little office in the back. It had a desk and several pictures hanging about. Florean sat down behind the desk and waved his wand, causing two chairs to appear before him. The boys took their seats.

"So, what makes you want to have a job?"

"Well, we are going to Hogwarts in ten days, and we didn't want to get bored out of our skulls just walking into the same stores over and over again. So we figured we could get a job to pass the time. What's more, we thought it would be nice to get a little extra money to spend. We were thinking something along the lines of a Sickle an hour or something like that."

"A Sickle an hour? That would be ripping you off! How does five Sickles and hour sound?"

"Better than we expected."

"Great. Now, another question: What would you boys like to do here? We have several jobs, making the ice cream, keeping the parlor in good condition, customer service, etc. What would you boys like?"

"Is there anything particularly hard about making the ice cream?"

"If you are good at your charms, I'd have to say no."

"I think we'll pick that."

"Okay then, let me show you the back where the ice cream is made."

He got up and the boys followed him. He walked into what looked like a kitchen, which had several small vats and faucets at the bottom of each one.

"Now, here is where all of the ice cream is prepared. I like to do most of it by hand and only add a few charms to make the food taste better. So, when someone orders something, say a strawberry ice cream, you'll get a cone, make a base of vanilla ice cream, add the strawberries and glaze, and voila! You have a strawberry ice cream. However, you aren't done yet. There's a nifty little charm I like to use to strengthen the flavor of the ice cream. I'll show you how to perform it tomorrow. If you don't know how to make a certain ice cream, the wall over there has all of the steps in order for each item. All of the topping containers are labeled, so you shouldn't have a problem with that either. Think you've got it?"

"Yup."

"Great. Also, in addition to your hourly pay, I think I'll throw in a free daily ice cream for each of you. You get to select whatever toppings you want, but keep it reasonable."

"Cool! Thanks Florean! By the way, would you mind if I called you Flo?"

Florean laughed.

"No problem. My parents used to call me that, it might be nice to have an old nickname back..."

"Okay, so when do we start work?"

"Probably tomorrow. You don't need a uniform, just make sure you wear appropriate clothing."

"No problem Flo."

"Be here tomorrow at six o'clock a.m. to help set up shop."

"Gotcha. See you tomorrow at six!"

"Bye now."

The two boys walked back to the Leaky Cauldron, talking animatedly about their new job.

"Can you believe it? We have a job!"

"Yeah, and a job making ice cream at that!"

"Five Sickles an hour! Flo is one cool guy!"

"You're tellin' me!"

They went on like that all they way to the pub. They walked up to the counter and were greeted by Tom.

"Hello boys, can I get you anything?"

"Two butterbeers please."

"Certainly. That'll be five Sickles each."

After paying the asked amount, the two boys took their tankards of butterbeer over to a table and continued to chat about their new job. After a solid 15 minutes of talking, they returned the empty tankards and headed towards their room.

"Well, we should go to bed early Peck. You know, so we can get to Flo's before six..."

"I read you loud and clear."

They didn't bother to change their clothes, but just kicked off their shoes and crawled into bed.

"Night Phoenix."

"Night Peck."

"Yo! We have a big order coming in! Three Sundaes, four Banana Splits, and two Caramel-covered Vanilla cones!"

"Alright soldiers, let's MOVE!"

The four employees in the kitchen began to run around, preparing the specified ice creams, bringing them out as they finished them. The Caramel cones were done first, then the Sundaes, and finally the Banana Splits came out. After the last ice cream was given to the customers, Phoenix spoke.

"Is there anything else we can get you?"

"No, this is it. Thank you."

"Any time. We hope to see you again soon!"

Five days had passed since Peck and Phoenix started their job. They had two co-workers in the kitchen. Erica was a tall, blond-haired girl who was very friendly and fun to hang with. Griffin was a medium-sized boy with black hair and was also quite amiable. Peck and Phoenix were glad to have them as friends.

In addition to their new friendships, the two boys seemed to be doing well with the boss. Flo was so pleased with their performance, that on their second day of work, he bumped up their wages to eight Sickles an hour. He was just so impressed with their customer skills that he felt it would be unfair to keep their pay at a mere five Sickles.

"Good work people! I must say we have really outdone ourselves this time."

"Aw, you're too kind Erica. I think I'm going to have my daily ice cream now, seeing as there aren't any new costumers coming at the moment."

"You go do that Phoenix. It's a hard-earned treat."

Peck started to talk to Griffin.

"So, how long has it been since you graduated from Hogwarts?"

"This is my first summer actually. I plan on staying here for a while before I can shoot for something bigger. Flo is a really great employer."

"Getting back to the subject Hogwarts, what's it like?"

Griffin sighed.

"We've been over this like what? Ten times?"

"Twelve to be exact."

"You get my point Peck. Fine, I'll be brief this time: It's a big castle. It has big parameters. It has four houses. They are Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Slytherin is bad. The other three are good. End of story."

"Wow, that took you all of 20 seconds! That's a new record Grif. Good job!"

"So, let me ask YOU a question: What house do you want to be in?"

"Well, from what you've told me about each house, I'd say either Ravenclaw or Gryffindor. Slytherin is for evil people, and Hufflepuff seems to be a bunch of hardworking dunderheads. I like Ravenclaw house because of the implied wits, and I like Gryffindor because of the implied bravery and courage."

"Courage eh? Would you have enough courage to say, kiss me even though you know I'll slap you for it?"

"Damn straight."

Without further ado, Peck walked over to Erica and pulled her into a kiss. Erica, horrified, immediately withdrew and smacked Peck clear across the face.

"I WAS ONLY KIDDING YOU IDIOT!"

Peck had a goofy grin on and Griffin was on the floor laughing.

"Well Peck. It appears you DO have the courage to be in Gryffindor."

"I'll prove my guts even more by kissing Erica again!"

"Don't you dare!"

"Why ever not, Erica my love?"

"Don't call me that!"

"You don't mean it?"

"I do too mean it!"

"Oh, my heart feels like it's been ripped out, stomped on by a hippogriff, and stuffed back into my chest!"

"Ah, put a cork in it lover boy."

"Hey! In the back! We've got costumers!"

All four of them sighed. Phoenix was still eating his ice cream. Peck yelled back.

"How many?"

"Two people."

Griffin and Erica looked at each other.

"We'll handle it."

"Thanks."

The next five days passed by rather quickly. On their sixth day, Flo had raised their wages again, this time to 10 Sickles an hour. On the last day, July 31st, Peck and Phoenix said goodbye to their friends, which was quite interesting:

"Well Grif, it was fun knowing you. Hey, maybe I'll see you again next summer!"

"Yeah, you too Peck, and you Phoenix. These last ten days were really fun guys."

The two boys then turned to Erica. Phoenix went first.

"Bye Erica. See you round, I guess."

"Come here Phoenix."

She gave him a hug and quickly kissed him on the cheek.

"Wow. Did you see that Peck? Erica gave me a kiss!"

"Hey, don't make me regret it!"

"Okay! My turn! And I'm not gonna use any words!"

Peck rushed over and pulled Erica, for about the 5th time in the ten days he worked at Flo's, into a kiss, hands on her waist. This time however, she didn't resist. Rather, she snaked her arms around his neck and pulled him closer. Peck, realizing his plan was failing horribly, moved his hands from Erica's waist to her butt. That got her mad. She let go and slapped him hard across the face.

"Don't do that again! Totally uncalled for!"

"Ah, but my plan worked, did it not?"

Erica sighed.

"I've been defeated yet again. Bye you two! Take care!"

After the two boys said good-bye to their friends, Florean brought them into his office.

"Well, I must admit I'm quite sad that you must take your leave so soon. You did a great job! I'm really proud to have had you as employees of mine. So, as a parting gift, I'm giving you fifteen Galleons each."

"Your too kind Flo! We had fun working here, especially since we had such a great and enthusiastic employer!" Peck winked.

"Well, so long! I hope to see you again in the future!"

"Bye Flo!"

After Florean Fortescue gave them their fifteen Galleons, Peck and Phoenix walked back to their rooms. They grabbed their lists of books that they would need and headed off to Flourish and Blotts. It was crowded with lots of parents who were getting their children's books for the new school year. Prominent to Phoenix was a group of people with flaming red hair. With the redhead group there appeared to be a boy with jet-black hair and a girl with bushy brown hair. Once they picked out all of their needed books, they were able to put Flo's bonus to good use.

With their arms loaded with the books they got, the two boys headed over to Madam Malkin's Robes For All Occasions to get their robes. Once they left the store, laden with their robes and books, Peck and Phoenix headed back to their room to get ready to leave. After packing all of their belongings in their bags, they proceeded just to lounge on their beds. Phoenix was polishing his assault rifle and Peck was watching him.

"Why do you feel a need to polish that thing?"

"For one thing Peck, 'that thing' is called Louie. Second, what else is there to do? I don't feel like working on another experiment now. We'll have plenty of time to work on them at the school anyway, so why do a poor job on one now?"

"Point taken. But seriously, polishing a gun? Isn't there anything better to do?"

"No."

"Whatever Phoenix."

The next morning, the two boys woke up at around nine, had a small breakfast at the Leaky Cauldron, and checked out of their room, lugging their bags (and in Phoenix's case, Flame too). As they left the pub, they walked to the curb of the sidewalk and hailed a taxi. As they got in, the driver turned to them.

"So, where to?"

"King's Cross Station."

"No problem."

They pulled into the street and headed towards the train station. After a 30-minute drive, the taxi driver dropped them off at their destination. They got out of the taxi and walked over to the station, looking at the platform numbers.

"Platform 7, platform 8, platform 9, platform 10- hey! Where's nine and three quarters?"

They looked again to make sure they didn't miss anything. Nothing. They checked the clock and found that it was 10:45.

"Well Peck, this is just peachy. We have about 15 minutes to find our ride to school, and we don't know where the heck it is!"

"Hey, calm down. Maybe we can recognize someone from Diagon Alley and ask them where it is."

"Hmm. Good point there my friend. Good point."

Phoenix looked around for signs of anyone he saw at Diagon Alley. No one.

"Well, that didn't work. We now have..." he checked the clock again "...seven minutes to find the train station. Hey, wait a minute. See that group of redheads over there?"

"Yup."

"I think I recognize them from the bookstore."

"Well, what are you waiting for? Let's go!"

The two boys walked over to the group. There was a man and a woman with six kids near the barrier between platform 9 and platform 10. Four of the kids had bags with them. Two were boys and two were girls. Peck walked up to the woman, who was talking to one of the girls.

"Excuse me miss, but do you know where I could find a platform nine and three quarters?"

"Ah, going to Hogwarts too? Well, Ron, Ginny, Harry, and Hermione are students as well. However, I'm quite surprised. You seem a bit old for a pair of first years..."

"Transfer students." Said Phoenix shortly.

"Ah. It's making much more sense now. So, what you do is you simply walk through that barrier right there, the one between platforms nine and ten."

Peck nodded, "Fair enough. Let's go Phoenix! Thank you!"

"No problem at all!"

As Phoenix was walking away, he heard the redhead girl talk to the redhead boy (he assumed they were siblings).

"Did you hear his name? Phoenix is an awfully strange name..."

Peck was walking in front of Phoenix and walked straight through the wall, his companion following suit. They immediately found themselves face-to-face with a huge scarlet engine that had the words "Hogwarts Express" written clearly on it. Peck turned to Phoenix.

"Well, here goes nothing."

They walked towards the train...

A/N: That chapter was 5,514 words long! Whew! I hope you don't mind long chapters. The other ones probably won't be as long (I hope). Well, I hope you found Phoenix and Peck's pre-Hogwarts experience interesting! Next chappie should be up soon...

And now for the obligatory thank yous:

**Sophianwin**: Once again, thanks for the awesome review. I made the corrections that you suggested, and I'll keep your over-cursing tip in mind. Rest assured that this isn't your typicical Mary Sue/Gary Stu transfer student crap story: It's loaded with humor (at least I find it funny...), and there's only a smidgen of humorous fluff at the end. By the way, since this is my first story I have EVER written, please excuse the lack of plot devices: I'll try to do better on my next story.

**Kathryn Black**: . glad you think my story is cool.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Please refer to Chapter 1.

A/N: sighs I've just realized how insanely stupid I've turned such a promising story into after thinking over all the various plots I put in it. bangs head on table It's (WHAM) so (WHAM) friggin' (WHAM) stupid (WHAM). But if you're bored enough to read through it, you may get some laughs. SO, I've decided just to post this whole thing up let you all read through it so you know what's going on, then read my second story (which hasn't been started yet), which will HOPEFULLY be less crappy than this one. If I'm bothered enough, I may come back to this and re-do it. By the way, I'm gonna have the second story written in first person through Phoenix, so maybe that'll make it have more "thought processes" shrugs

Chapter 3: Of Train and Boat Rides, Castles, and Feasts

Peck and Phoenix walked stoutly onto the train and headed towards the back. Upon reaching the last compartment, the two dropped their bags and settled down into their seats. Phoenix took the bag that contained his guns and started to take them out and lay them on a table.

"Let's see here. I've got my Colts, Louie, Frags, Uzi, and of course, my Sniper Rifle. Ah, I'll take out Thor's Shield for good measure."

Phoenix took out a blank, loaded it into his S.R., and cocked it. Peck just goggled.

"Jeez Phoenix! I know I suggested you bring your guns, but I was thinking along the lines of your Colts and Louie. Don't you think your overdoing it?"

"Nonsense! When I bring my guns, I bring the whole family!"

Peck sighed, "Whatever Phoenix. Here, toss me a Colt and a blank."

Phoenix did what Peck asked and handed him the requested items. Peck loaded the blank into the pistol and grinned at Phoenix.

"You never know when it might come in handy."

At that moment, the compartment door slid open and in walked four of the kids who were with the woman that helped the boys. They paused in the doorframe for a moment, just staring at the guns. Peck broke the silence.

"Well? What are you staring at?"

The bushy brown-haired girl spoke up.

"You have... GUNS!"

"Yeah, so?"

"Why?"

Phoenix looked annoyed, "Because I like 'em. Now are you coming in or not?"

They seemed to have regained their composure and walked in, sitting down on different seats. Phoenix continued to load his guns with blanks and cock them. The boy with jet-black hair spoke.

"Why are you loading your guns? Isn't there a possibility that you might hurt someone?"

"Ah, good point. I'll give you two reasons why you are safe with me handling these loaded guns: one, I've worked with guns for three years now, so I'm pretty careful. Two, they are loaded with blanks, so there is no possibility of an injury."

The redheaded girl spoke up.

"Is your name really Phoenix?"

"Can't say it is, though it's what I go by. My real name is Josh."

"And my real name is Max, though I go by Peck. Who are you people?"

The redhead girl started, "My name is Ginny Weasley."

Next was the redhead boy, "My name is Ron Weasley."

"Aha! I knew you were related!"

The brown-haired girl spoke up, "My name is Hermione Granger."

And last was the boy with jet-black hair, "My name is Harry Potter."

"Well, it's a pleasure to meet you Ginny, Ron, Hermione, Harry." Said Phoenix nodding at each one in turn.

The boy named Harry seemed confused. Peck noticed.

"What's up Harry?"

"I'm kind of surprised you aren't trying to get a good look at my scar..."

Phoenix laughed, "Now why would we want to look at the remnants of a cut?"

The four friends looked at each other.

"You've never heard of Harry Potter?"

"No, I haven't. Hold on, I remember getting a chocolate frog card on someone named James Potter..."

"That would be my dad."

"Really? That's cool that your dad is on a card."

"Well, he's dead. So is my mum."

"Oh. How'd they die?"

Ron was looking at Phoenix like he was mad.

"What planet are you from?"

"Earth, how 'bout you?"

"You mean to tell me you've never heard of You-Know-Who?"

"Funny you should mention that, because I saw that exact same phrase on James' C.F. card. Said this guy killed him. Who IS You-Know-Who?"

Harry spoke, "Voldemort."

The other three visibly cringed, Hermione less so than the other two.

"What's wrong with saying his name?"

"Seriously mate, where are you from?"

"California."

"Huh?"

"America."

"Oh, that place. Right. What are you doing here if you live in America?"

"We're transfer students."

"Oh. That's cool."

Hermione and Ron stood up, "We have to get going. Prefect duties."

"What's a prefect?"

"Never mind."

"Okay, whatever."

A few minutes after they left, the door opened again. Harry, without looking, spoke to the person in the doorway.

"Go away Malfoy. You're not wanted here."

"I'm not quite Malfoy."

That surprised Harry, causing him to turn around.

"However, I AM a friend of Draco. The name's Phillip Anderson." The boy drawled.

"Any friend of Malfoy is not wanted here."

"Oh, but I don't wish to leave. I think I'll stay right here."

At that moment, a clicking sound was heard. All heads turned to Phoenix, who had his assault rifle in his hands.

"You leave, or you face the wrath of Louie."

Phillip started to laugh.

"What's that? No don't tell me, I don't want to know what sort of pathetic crap you want to use on me."

BLAM!

One shot rang clearly from the assault rifle.

"You are lucky that was a blank in there. Now scat before I play tee ball with your head!"

Phillip growled.

"You asked for it."

He took out his wand and shouted "TARANTALLEGRA!" However, Phoenix was ready for him. He grabbed his shield and blocked the curse with it. The barrier glowed for a moment, and then went back to normal.

"Hmm. Seems to be holding up quite nicely."

Phillip growled again.

"That stunt is gonna cost ya!"

He raised his wand again, but found three others pointed directly at him. Phoenix grinned.

"Am I really worth it? I hope so, for I really wish to see what you would look like once these three are through with you."

"You haven't seen the last of me!"

"Hey! Finish the cliché! Here, I'll help you. My last name is Blazen. Go on, say it. 'You haven't seen the last of me, Blazen!'."

Phillip hissed and stalked off. At that moment, Ron and Hermione can rushing in.

"We heard a loud noise. What happened?"

Harry spoke up, "Let's just stay Malfoy has a new friend who wants nothing more than to piss us off."

"Ah. That still doesn't explain the noise."

Phoenix patted his gun, "That would be Louie."

"How come we didn't hear any screaming afterwards? Didn't the bullet hit something?"

"I have blanks, remember?"

"Oh, right. Well, we have to get back now. See you later!"

After they left, the compartment was quite once again. Peck looked at the Colt in his hand for a moment, then grinned.

"Hey Phoenix. How does a game of robbers sound to you?"

"You're on Peck!"

Ginny looked at the two, "Can I join?"

"Hmm, maybe we can duplicate one of your Colts Phoenix. Hang on."

After muttering a quick charm, a third Colt appeared. Peck turned to Harry.

"You in?"

"No thanks. Have fun."

"Okay, first, we need hats and bandanas."

Peck and Phoenix started to transfigure various objects into the specified pieces of clothing. Once they had their hats on and bandanas tied, the three took their guns and walked out of the compartment. The walked down to the nearest compartment and opened the door, their guns trained on the shocked occupants, who happened to be a bunch of girls.

"Okay gals, this here is a train robbery. I want you to give up any and all valuables you may have. That is, unless you want to face my good friend here." Phoenix patted his Colt for emphasis.

One of them started to slowly reach for their wand, but Ginny pointed her gun at the culprit.

"Don't even think about it Miss!"

"C'mon, hand 'em over! I want all of you money!"

Once they started to dig into their pockets, the trio started to laugh.

"GOTCHA! Ha, ha! That was good. Scared ya, didn't we? Well, enjoy the rest of your train ride."

Peck then closed the compartment door. They continued on like this scaring kids in each compartment they "attacked". In one compartment, they saw a couple snogging like there was no tomorrow. They immediately shut the door and started to laugh.

When they finished "robbing" their 10th compartment however, they turned to find several prefects staring at them with hard expressions.

"What IS the meaning of this? I want answers, NOW!"

"Hey, you don't need to prompt me for answers. We are just having a little bit of fun. You know, making the train ride interesting. No money or valuables were stolen from any compartments. All we do is give the occupants a scare."

"That is a sick and wrong form of entertainment!"

"Hey buddy! You ever been to Knott's Berry Farm?"

"Huh?"

"Never mind. What I'm trying to say is that at some muggle amusement parks, they have train rides. On several of these train rides, they have 'robbers' who pretend to rob the riders. We are doing the exact same thing. There is nothing wrong with what we are doing."

"Go back to your compartment."

"Why?"

"'Cause I said so."

"I want a valid reason for your order for us to return to our compartment."

"This is a stupid form of activity."

"And that is a stupid excuse."

"Are you contradicting a prefect?"

"Why, I have to say I am. And it's me mind you, not Peck OR Ginny. Just me."

"The Headmaster will hear about this. Now, for one last time, GO BACK TO YOUR COMPARTMENT!"

The prefects turned around and walked back to the front of the train. Phoenix gave them the finger.

"They can't see you, you know."

"I know Peck, that is exactly the reason why I'm doing it. Let's go."

The three walked back to the car where Harry was sitting, talking about how much fun the train robbing was, despite the annoying prefects. When they walked in, Harry looked up.

"So, how'd it go?"

"We had fun until some prefects broke it up."

"Bummer."

"Yeah."

The rest of the train ride was uneventful. Phoenix was firing stunning spells at his shield, filling up cells with the energy, Peck was sleeping, so was Harry, and Ginny was reading. When they neared the school, Ron and Hermione dropped by to remind them to get into their robes. Once everyone was in their proper clothing, all luggage (the guns) was put back, and Peck and Harry were woken up, the four awaited arrival. Phoenix leaned over and whispered to Peck.

"I've heard rumors that the first years ride across a lake in boats."

"Yeah, so?"

"We could stage a fight with the Colts and blanks. Make sure you have only blanks mind you, even though I'm pretty sure I didn't accidentally mix any actual bullets in there. You in?"

"Sounds like fun. I'm in."

"Good. Here, take a Colt and half of the blanks."

Peck did so and began to load his Colt with the blanks, Phoenix doing the same. A few minutes later, the train stopped and everyone started to get off. Tucking their guns in their belts, the two boys left their bags where they were and started to walk outside with their new friends.

"Firs' years! Firs' years over here! Firs' years!"

Harry leaned over and spoke to the boys, "That would be you. Go on, I'll see you inside the castle, at Gryffindor table I hope."

"Later."

Peck and Phoenix made their way over to a massive man who looked to huge to be a normal human being. He turned and looked at the two.

"'Ello you two. This is your first year at Hogwarts? You seem to be a bit old. Wait, you're the transfer students, aren't yeh?"

"Yup."

"Well, I hope you like Hogwarts as much as you like your old school." The man then looked around.

"Right, do we have everyone here? Okay, follow me."

Everyone followed the man down a narrow path towards the lake.

"Yeh'll get yer firs' look at Hogwarts in a sec..."

Just then, a huge castle appeared from around the corner. With its proud turrets and many windows, the school was a sight to behold. While the other first years were oohing and ahhing, Peck leaned over and spoke to Phoenix.

"One heck of a school, eh?"

"It's a whole lot grander than White's, I'll tell you that. Okay, here're the boats. Separate boats, got it?"

"Right."

The two boys climbed into two separate boats while Hagrid was saying only four people to a boat. In Phoenix's boat, three other eleven-year olds climbed in and looked at Phoenix curiously.

"You seem to old to be a first year. Why are you here?"

"I'm a transfer student from America. I'm actually a sixth year."

"Wow."

"Hey, the boats are starting to move. See that boat over there?" Phoenix pointed to Peck's boat.

"Yeah."

"My friend is in that boat. We are going to stage a gunfight, so you might want to watch."

Phoenix withdrew his Colt and signaled Peck to do the same. He then stood up in his boat and yelled across at Peck, who had also stood up.

"You little punk! How could you abandon me and take a different boat?"

"How could I? You're so insufferable that I can't stand being next to you."

Phoenix pointed his pistol at Peck.

"Well then, I guess I'm going to have to kill you, ya murderin' traitor!"

"Hey you two! There'll be no killin' if I can help it!"

Phoenix turned to the man.

"Don't worry. You might want to watch, it should get interesting."

"Kill me, eh? Well, not if I kill you first!"

BLAM! BLAM! Two shots rang out, one from each pistol. The two boys ducked to the safety of their boats and continued to trade shots with each other, yelling now and then too. BLAM! Phoenix pretended to get hit.

"Ooh! That does it you dirty, rotten, scum-sucking person!"

BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! Phoenix fired four successive shots at Peck, who pretended to get hit as well.

"Aaaah! I'm bleeding! I'm bleeding! Medic! Take me out!"

"Sorry Peck. No one can save you now."

"Nooooooooo!"

BLAM! Peck fell to the bottom of his boat, out of view. Several people started to clap, and Peck and Phoenix stood up in their boats and started to bow.

"Yeh know, if I get in ter trouble for this-"

"We'll stick up for you and say it was our fault."

"Whatever, we're here at the end of the lake now anyway. Watch yer step."

The group started to make their way towards the castle, the first years whispering to each other. They eventually made it to the front door and Hagrid knock clearly. They opened for the first years to find the face of a tall black-haired witch.

"Thank you Hagrid, I'll take them from here."

The woman ushered them into the doors and into a small chamber. Once everyone was inside, she spoke up.

"Welcome to Hogwarts. The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of you house, sleep in your house dormitory, and spend free time in your house common room. The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rule-breaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the House Cup, a great honor. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours. The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting." (A/N: In case anyone was wondering, yes, I did take that right out of the book.)

Everyone promptly attempted to fix himself or herself up, be it by smoothing their hair or readjusting their robes. After several minutes passed, the woman ushered them into the Great Hall. All of the first years (minus Peck and Phoenix) promptly gasped at their surroundings. Thousands of candles floated above four tables in midair. And above the candles, the ceiling looked like it wasn't there. Phoenix heard someone whisper something about it being bewitched so it looks like the outside sky. The woman, probably a professor, led them to the front of the room. A stool with an old hat was put down in front of them. It started to sing (A/N: Did you honestly think I would write a song for the Sorting Hat to sing?). After it had finished, the woman took a scroll of parchment and began to read off names.

"Anders, Bill!"

A timid young boy walked up to the hat and put it on. After a few short seconds, the hat shouted.

"RAVENCLAW!"

The hall began to clap, the Ravenclaws louder than the rest, as Bill walked over to the correct table and sat down.

"Bean, Alan!"

Several seconds later, "GRYFFINDOR!"

Once the clapping died down (and in Gryffindor's case, the whooping), the woman read the next name.

"Blazen, Joshua!"

Phoenix walked up to the hat, sat down, and put it on. He immediately started to hear a strange voice in his head.

'My, my, my. You seem to be a bit old for a first year, don't you think?"

'I'm a transfer student. So, what house do you think I should be in? I REALLY don't want to be in Slytherin.'

'Heavens no, not Slytherin. You are far to chivalrous to be there.'

'Chivalrous, eh? That sounds like I should be in Gryffindor.'

'True, true. I guess you do belong in GRYFFINDOR!"

The hall cheered again as Phoenix walked over to the Gryffindor table, Harry had saved him a seat.

"Thanks."

"No problem."

After a "Borman, Frank" was sorted into Slytherin, and a "Conrad, Pete" was sorted into Hufflepuff, a "Lovell, Jim" became the third new Gryffindor. It went on like that for a while. Finally, after a "Shepard, Alan" (A/N: If you can figure out what theme I picked for the names, BROWNIE POINTS FOR YOU!) was sorted into Ravenclaw, the woman called out, "Smith, Maxwell!"

As he was walking towards the hat, he shouted back at the woman.

"It's Peck, yo! Peck. Not Maxwell, Peck."

The hall erupted in laughter at that, even the staff table had to stifle a few snorts. Peck put on the hat, and after a few short seconds...

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Phoenix got up and started to shout.

"Woohoo! Alright Peck! Welcome aboard! EVERYBODY DANCE NOW!"

Ginny, who was across from him, started to glow red.

"Phoenix, I think you are over reacting."

But the boy wasn't listening. He took his wand and started to shoot fireworks into the air. He topped it off with gold lettering that said "THREE CHEERS FOR PECK!"

At the staff table, a man Phoenix recognized as Dumbledore began to laugh and clap his hands.

"Thank you for that wonderful display Mr. Blazen. Now if you would kindly take your seat so the sorting can continue..."

"Aye, aye SIR!" Phoenix saluted Dumbledore and sat down again, earning laughter from the rest of the school.

Peck was the last student to be sorted, so next up was the feast. Once everyone was settled in his or her seats, Dumbledore stood up.

"Welcome everyone to another year at Hogwarts. It's time for you to fill your head with knowledge so you can empty it when summer comes around. Before we begin, I'd like to welcome two transfer students, both of who have been sorted into Gryffindor. Please make sure Mr. Blazen and Mr. Smith feel at home. Dig in!"

The plates in front of them filled with food and Peck's mouth dropped at the sheer sight of everything. He immediately started to pile his plate with steak, potatoes, chicken, etc. Once he was satisfied with how much food he had on his plate, he began to stuff his face with it. Phoenix looked at his watch.

"Fifteen seconds. You aren't up to your usual standard my friend."

Peck tried to say, "Oh, put a cork in it," but ended up saying "Oh, uh a or I I!"

Phoenix, on the other hand, started to load his plate with chicken and steak. After he had a sufficient amount, he started to cut into his steak and eat it with a fork.

"See Peck? This is how you eat food. This way, I can talk without sounding like a caveman."

Peck took a spoonful of his mashed potatoes and flung it at Phoenix, hitting him square on the forehead. Ginny giggled.

"You find that funny do you?"

"Mm-hmm."

"Interesting."

Phoenix transfigured his goblet into a syringe, sucked some pumpkin juice into his weapon, and squirted Ginny with it. She gasped in shock.

"Squirt a lady? How could you?"

"I have a saying for all females who question me: I ain't no lady's man."

Ginny took a handful of peas and threw them at Phoenix. However, the boy ducked and the green projectiles ended up hitting a Hufflepuff over at the next table. The boy turned around.

"Hey! What was that for?"

"Sorry! I didn't mean to hit you!"

"Oh yeah? Say it to the chicken!"

Without further ado, the boy threw a chicken leg at Ginny, however, his aim was off and he ended up hitting Ron instead. That got him real mad.

"Alright buddy, THIS MEANS WAR!"

He started to scoop mashed potatoes with a spoon and fling them at the neighboring table, aiming for the boy but failing miserably. A stray shot hit a Ravenclaw two tables down, causing her to throw some carrots at a Hufflepuff. Phoenix turned to Peck.

"C'mon Peck. FOOD FIGHT!"

Thus, World War III erupted in the hall, students firing various foods at each other with their forks and spoons. Dumbledore seemed to be watching with interest. Peck, following Phoenix's lead, transfigured his goblet into a syringe and joined him in spraying the neighboring table in pumpkin juice. Phoenix stood up and faced the Gryffindors on the opposite side of the table, who were facing the Hufflepuffs.

"Archers! Load your spoons!"

Quite a few of the students took their spoons and filled them with either mashed potatoes or vegetables. Once they were loaded, they looked at Phoenix.

"Ready? Aim! FIRE!"

A volley of food was launched at the Hufflepuffs, causing mayhem to ensue in the already crazy hall. Phoenix grabbed a pair of chicken legs and stood up on the bench, looking around.

"Who wants some of this?" A splat of mashed potatoes on the arm gave him his answer. He threw the legs like knives in the direction of the attack.

"Reload archers! Take aim! FIRE!"

Another volley of food hit the Hufflepuffs, and several Ravenclaws too.

Peck, being the creative and mischievous boy his is, took a handful of mashed potatoes and packed it like a snowball. Muttering a spell at his weapon, he fired the ball at the Slytherin table, or more specifically, Phillip. It just so happens to be that the spell he cast upon his projectile was a homing spell, thus making sure the food would hit its target. And hit its target it did, causing Phillip to look around in confusion, for the Slytherins hadn't joined in the fight and were calmly eating like nothing was going on.

Phoenix, always one to integrate muggle technology into the wizarding world, transfigured his syringe into a "Super Soaker" and filled it with pumpkin juice. Once it was pumped and ready for action, he leapt off of the bench and started to run around the tables squirting the students, then retreating back to the safety of Gryffindor table.

It was becoming an interesting battle. However, it all went downhill when a stray shot hit the woman who read the names off at the sorting ceremony...

Peck and Phoenix walked out of the hall laughing to each other. The woman, named Professor McGonagall, ordered them to see the headmaster in his office as a punishment for starting the "disgraceful and horrendous food fight".

"Did you see her face? Ha, ha! It was so purple, I swear some of her veins exploded."

"Too bad the fight didn't last longer."

"But it was sure funny when the fight became a battle between the students and teachers."

"Yeah! Did you see how quickly Dumbledore sent mashed potatoes and carrots pelting at us? I swear, his firing rate was almost as fast as Louie!"

"Man, I never had that much fun at White's. Pity McGonagall is so strict. She should be more like Dumbledore..."

"You're telling me. I say she should- wait, did you hear that?"

"What?"

"Listen."

They were able to hear the faint sounds of a struggle and muffled yells. They looked at each other.

"Wonder what it is. In any case, wands and Colts out!"

"I'm one step ahead of you Phoenix."

As the two boys ran down the corridor, the noises of a struggle were getting steadily louder. They continued to bolt down the hallway, confused as to what was going on. They were about to round the corner when they heard a distinct yell.

"Get OFF of me, Malfoy!"


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: THIS MEANS WAR!

"Get OFF of me, Malfoy!"

That caused the pair to round the corner with blazing speed unknown to man. What they saw really, really, REALLY ticked them off. A boy with blonde hair and pale skin, who was apparently "Malfoy", had Ginny pinned against a wall and was currently wiping her face with a napkin.

"What? You should at least look presentable when you are floating upside-down in the air with your dress falling over your head."

"You wouldn't dare!"

"Oh, I would."

"SICKO! Why the bloody hell are you doing this, Malfoy?"

"Because I can. Crabbe? Goyle? Please take hold of the weakling..."

"Weakling? WEAKLING?! I'LL SHOW YOU THE POWER OF GINNY WEASLEY IN A SECOND!"

Two human boulders grunted and continued to pin her against the wall while Malfoy started to unbutton her cloak. During this time, Phoenix and Peck were advancing steadily towards the scene. Even as they were ten feet away and gaining, no one noticed their presence.

"Hey! Bleach Boy! Leave Ginny alone!"

The boy whipped around, saw the two saviors, and sneered.

"And why would you care about my dealings with Weasley here?"

"Because 'Weasley' is a friend and fellow Gryffindor."

"Ah, go to hell you two."

Malfoy turned back to his work when he heard a clear BANG. He turned around again to see the red-haired boy (the one we know as Phoenix) with a metallic object pointing into the air.

"YOU WILL RESPECT MY AUTHORITAY!" (A/N: Sorry, I just HAD to put that)

"I said go to hell, or are you two idiots deaf?"

"You are really askin' for it Bleach Boy."

"Don't call me that."

"Why not BLEACH BOY?"

"Crabbe! Goyle! Get them!"

The two human boulders let go of Ginny, allowing Malfoy to assume that position, and lumbered towards the two. Just as the boys raised their wands, Malfoy shouted "EXPELLIARMUS!" The boys' wands zipped from their hands and they were thrown backwards. Once they got up, they were beyond pissed.

"Alright buddy, now I'm mad."

"Oooh, I'm shaking."

Both boys raised their guns, pointed them at Malfoy, and started to run at him while shooting their guns. Blank after blank came out, scaring Crabbe and Goyle, and confusing Malfoy. Once they were close enough, Peck and Phoenix leapt at Bleach Boy, intending to tackle him. However, Crabbe and Goyle grabbed them and attempted to twist their arms.

"Not today you stupid dumbass." With that, Phoenix and Peck pulled their wrists from the goons' grasp. They then proceeded to grab their wrists, twist their arm, and pull it backwards with their other hand on the back of the boys' elbow for added leverage. The two boulders were soon on the ground, squealing in pain. Once they were out of commission, they turned to Malfoy, who had his wand pointed at Phoenix.

"STUPEFY!"

Phoenix had to jump to the side in order to avoid the red bolt. While Malfoy was distracted with Phoenix, Peck dove at him, tackling him to the ground. Phoenix ran forward to assist his comrade.

While Peck held him down, Phoenix got their wands (and Malfoy's). After securely tying Malfoy up with some conjured cords, he handed his friend his wand and they both turned around, only to find Crabbe and Goyle bolting down the corridor. Well, as fast as two human boulders can go anyway.

"OH NO YOU DON'T! STUPEFY!"

Two red bolts shot out, one from each wand, and hit the two boys in the back, stunning them. Once all three boys were disabled, Peck and Phoenix turned their attention to Ginny, who was still struggling against her bonds. Peck immediately removed those.

"Thanks, they were starting to hurt."

"Hey, anytime."

"Why'd you come?"

"Why do you think?"

"Right. How'd my mother say it? Oh yeah: Ask a stupid question, get a stupid answer."

"Well, we have to go now. Seeing Dumbledore and all."

"Wouldn't you know? I was heading over there too when Malfoy and his goons jumped me."

"You're going too? But what did you do?"

Ginny giggled, "Why, I helped start the fight silly!"

"Well, we had better get going. Oh, we also have to get back at Bleach Boy."

"You don't have to..."

"'Course we do! After all, you are a fellow Gryffindor, and a mighty hot one at that."

Ginny smacked Phoenix for that comment.

"Uncalled for!"

"What? It's true!"

"Let's just go now, shall we?"

"Yes, yes, of course."

"Well you three, I must say I'm quite amused by your actions. However, due to the fact that it caused trouble and several injuries, I'm afraid I have to give you a detention. Tomorrow night, I want you to clean the Great Hall. No Ms. Weasley, not an immaculate cleaning, just making sure it looks presentable. I'll make sure the house elves don't clean it that night."

The three friends were in Dumbledore's office. Once they got inside, Phoenix immediately noticed Fawkes and started asking the headmaster questions about the bird. Now Dumbledore was dishing out their punishment.

"Go down to the Great Hall at about nine o'clock to meet Mr. Filch. He won't be watching you the whole time, he's just there to get you started. Well, that's all I have to say. However, I would like Mr. Blazen to stay for a little bit longer..."

"No problem Al ("PECK!"), we'll wait for you outside Phoenix."

Once the two teenagers were out of the office, Dumbledore spoke to Phoenix.

"Mr. Blazen, it is my understanding that you gave several prefects some trouble on the Hogwarts Express. Would you kindly explain yourself?"

"My pleasure. Ginny, Peck, and I were playing an innocent game of "robbers" where we would pretend to attack each compartment tell the occupants to give us their money. Once they started to dig into their pockets, we'd break character and start to laugh. Nothing was stolen. Apparently the prefects have as little sense of humor as Professor McGonagall has."

Dumbledore laughed, "Yes, I must admit Minerva doesn't take too kindly to practical jokes. Are you sure you didn't cause any harm with your little game?"

"Positive. All we did was give the compartment occupants a scare to pass the time."

"Well then, it appears you shouldn't have a punishment for that particular infringement. However, you DID talk back to the prefects. I know they didn't understand the circumstances. However, you shouldn't give them a hard time for it, they're just doing their jobs."

"Okay professor. I won't cause anymore trouble with the prefects." He also added, "for now."

"I heard that. It seems we have another Fred and George on our hands..."

"Huh?"

"Never mind. You may leave now, good night Mr. Blazen."

"'Night Professor."

Phoenix walked out of the office, down the moving staircase, and into the corridor. True to their word, Ginny and Peck were waiting.

"What did he want to talk to you about?"

"Oh, just our little train robbery thingy. That and my giving the prefects a hard time."

"Okay, let's go back to the Gryffindor Tower now."

The three students walked in silence, Peck and Phoenix following Ginny's lead. While they were walking, Phoenix looked around at the portraits on the walls. Several of them were sleeping, but most of them were looking at the three curiously. Some of the female portraits winked at Phoenix, and several male portraits made catcalls at Ginny. They eventually made their way to the portrait of a fat lady in a pink dress. She looked down kindly at the students.

"Hello Ginny, how are you today?"

"I'm fine thank you. These are my two friends, Peck and Phoenix."

"Hey."

"Yo."

"Well, I'm glad that they are in Gryffindor. Password?"

Ginny paused for a moment.

"Shoot! I don't know the password."

"Oh dear. Well, I'm afraid I can't let you in unless you have the password."

"I know."

"Hang on, I have an idea. Miss, is it okay if I yell?"

"Of course dear. Go ahead."

Phoenix took a deep breath and shouted, "HEY! IS ANYONE IN THERE? WE DON'T KNOW THE PASSWORD! WILL ANYONE OPEN THE DOOR FOR US?"

By the time the Phoenix had finished, the fat lady had her hands over her ears.

"I'm sorry, was I too loud?"

"No, no. Of course not, it's okay really."

At that moment, the portrait cracked open a bit and Ron poked his head out.

"I heard some yelling, what's up?"

"We weren't told the password, would you mind letting us in?"

"Sure no problem."

"Okay, see you later!"

"Bye dears!"

Ginny, Peck, and Phoenix climbed in and walked into the common room. Most people had gone off to bed already. However, several people were still in the common room. When Phoenix and Peck appeared, people started whispering to each other and pointing at them. Peck leaned over and spoke to his companion loud enough for the common room to hear.

"Somehow, I get the feeling we aren't too popular right now..."

That shut everyone up. They then started to contradict that remark and assure them that they are welcome, being fellow Gryffindors, etc.

"Well people, Phoenix and myself will be going to bed now, BYE ALL!"

The two walked upstairs and into the sixth year boys' dormitories. The looked around for a moment before finding their beds. The two hadn't actually intended to go to bed YET. They first wanted to get settled. Phoenix took out his experiments and put them in cabinet on his nightstand, Peck doing the same thing. He then proceeded to take out his guns and hang them on the wall next to his bed. All of them were up there except for one...

"Peck? My Colt if you don't mind."

Peck tossed over the weapon to Phoenix, who promptly hung that up next to his other one. After that, he took out his robes and put them away in his closet.

"Well Phoenix, should we go to bed now?"

"I'm gonna fill up a few more stun cells before I do. See you tomorrow Peck!"

"Night."

Phoenix took out his shield, snapped in a cell, propped it up, and started firing stun spells at it. After about 20 spells, the cell was maxed out, forcing Phoenix to replace it and add the charged cell to his growing collection (A/N: In case you're wondering, Phoenix uses a duplicating charm to make the extra cells). After filling five more cells, Phoenix decided to catch some shut-eye. After putting away his shield and replacing the cell port with a fresh one, Phoenix kicked off his shoes, crawled into his bed, and nodded off to sleep.

The next day found Phoenix waking up early and taking a shower. As if Phoenix taking a shower early in the morning wasn't bad enough, he was also singing semi-correct lyrics to a song few people knew...

"TROGDOR WAS A MAN, well, no, he was a DRAGON-MAN, actually, not really, okay, so he was a DRAGON! But anyway, he was BURNINATING THE COUNTRYSIDE! BURNINATING ALL THE PEOPLE! BURNINATING ALL THE HOUSES! AND BLASTING ALL OF THE COTTAGES! TROGDOOOOOR!"

"PHOENIX, SHADDUP!"

But Phoenix wasn't listening.

"TRAGDOOOOOOR! HE WAS THE BURNINATOR! THE BURNINATOR! AND I'M MAKING UP THE WORDS AS I GO ALONG!"

"PHOENIX! IF YOU ARE GOING TO SING STRONGBAD'S TROGDOR SONG, SING IT RIGHT!"

He was finally able to hear his friend's shouts, "WELL SORRY IF I CAN'T REMEMBER SOME LINES AFTER THREE YEARS OF NOT LISTENING TO THE SONG!"

"THEN DON'T SING IT!"

"FINE! I'LL SING ANOTHER SONG! READY? HERE WE GO! DA SCROLL! DA SCROLL! DA BUTTON! DA BUTTON! DA SCROLL'S SO SMOOOOTH LIKE THE BUTTER ON THE MUFFIN!"

"PHOENIX! WE ARE TRYING TO SLEEP IN HERE!"

"WELL YOU AREN'T TRYING HARD ENOUGH, NOW ARE YOU?"

All six boys yelled at Phoenix, "SHUT UP!"

"WELL, I'M DONE WITH MY SHOWER ANYWAY, SO YOU'VE BEEN SPARED. OH BOY! I CAN'T WAIT FOR A WHOLE YEAR OF THIS!"

He was able to hear his six roommates groan. After getting dressed, the boy walked into the bedroom to see six mutinous faces staring back.

"Umm, guys? Are you okay?"

"ATTACK!"

Phoenix was immediately tackled by the six boys, who formed a dog pile with Phoenix at the center. Although muffled somewhat, Phoenix was able to say, "Peck, you are sitting on my face."

"Good, you deserve it."

A good five minutes later, seven beaten and battered sixth year Gryffindor boys left their dormitory and entered the common room. It was empty. Phoenix groaned.

"Does anyone have the time?"

"Yeah, it's 5:35 in the morning."

"Why on Earth isn't anyone up at that hour? I mean really! Is everyone here a lazy bum?"

Phoenix continued muttering to himself, "No one up at five-thirty, unbelievable..."

The other six looked at him, "Well, we are going back to the dormitory to get some sleep and to get ready for our first day of classes."

"Well that's jolly good, old chaps! I'll be down here starting work on my biggest project yet!"

"Oh, and what would that be Phoenix?"

"Stun Pistols!"

"Huh?"

Phoenix sighed, "Peck, Peck, Peck. You don't really think I make those cells for no real purpose, do you? I'm going to make a handgun, which will be modeled after my Colts. However, instead of having a magazine filled with bullets, it'll have a port that the cells can plug into. Once I get the hang of it, I'll do more complicated guns, like Louie!"

Peck shook his head, "You're crazy Phoenix, did you know that?"

"AND DAMNED PROUD OF IT!"

Harry, Ron, Seamus, Dean, Neville, and Peck shook their heads.

"Whatever you say Phoenix."

As they walked up into their dormitory, they noticed Phoenix following them.

"Uh, aren't you going to work on your experiment thingy?"

"I have to get my stuff first, don't I?"

"Oh, good point."

Once Phoenix gathered his Colts, several Stun Cells, and his wand, he walked downstairs and into the common room. He started by duplicating one of his Colts and taking out the magazine.

Rubbing his hands together, Phoenix said, "Okay, let's get this party started!"

After another hour of sleep, Peck woke up and took a shower. That done, he got into his robes and walked downstairs into the common room. He saw Phoenix in a corner on the floor, examining one of his Colts and waving his wand at a third.

'Probably a duplicate.'

He also noticed that everyone was at least 10 feet away from him and giving him shifty looks, as if he had the Black Plague. When they noticed his presence, they started to give him shifty looks as well and edge away from him.

Ignoring this, Peck walked over to the corner where Phoenix was hard at work on his "Stun Pistol". He sat down and got a good look at what Phoenix was doing. The duplicate seemed like an exact copy, as if he didn't change anything.

"So Phoenix, what have you done to your Stun Pistol?"

"Well, I first tried to figure out how to remove the latch that holds the magazine. I was unable to reach it, so I had to dismantle the SP's handle and take it out that way. Once it was out I welded it back together again. Now I have a problem: How can I make a trigger launch a stun spell?"

"What's your plan?"

"I have to make a new latch. This latch has to somehow trigger the launch of a stun spell. I'm experimenting. I've blown up about three guns so far..."

He gestured to a heap of twisted metal lying next to him. Either Peck's eyes were deceiving him or he was actually seeing smoke rise from the metal.

"Do you have any idea for what to do?"

"Sort of. I made the cells so they cause the spells to bounce off the walls. Thus, these stun spells are eternally ricocheting around in there. I think I'll have the trigger pull the lid forward for a split second, allowing a single spell to come out. It doesn't matter what angle it comes out, the barrel will straighten it out."

"Do you think it'll work?"

Phoenix shrugged.

"It's my best bet. Its principles are similar to those of an actual Pistol. The main difference is the magazine isn't spring loaded and the stun spells come out on their own with no propulsion whatsoever."

"Need any help?"

"Nah, not this second anyway. If this works, I have a feeling later models will be harder. I also want to figure out a better way to launch the spells."

"Well Phoenix, it's about six-thirty, so you have a good hour before I head down to the Great Hall with Harry & Co."

"That should be enough time for me to finish this and test it. Hopefully it won't blow up like the others..."

"Based on what you told me about its mechanics, I have a feeling this one will work."

Peck walked away and decided to investigate why everyone looked at him and Phoenix as if they had worms coming out of their ears. He approached a third year boy. The boy noticed and started to back away from him. He continued backing away as Peck advanced, finally getting stuck in a corner. His knees started to shake.

"W-w-what do you w-want with m-me?"

"Why are you scared of me?" he laughed, "I mean come on! It's not like I have two heads or something. Besides, where's your Gryffindor courage? Stand up like the man you are! There's nothing to be afraid of! I'm not going to strangle you."

The boy listened to his words, but still showed fear in his eyes. Thankfully though, he stopped stuttering.

"You're from America. You don't belong here. We don't want to mingle with Americans."

Peck was enraged, "THAT'S THE DUMBEST EXCUSE I'VE EVER HEARD! WHAT THE BLOODY HELL DO YOU HAVE AGAINST AMERICANS? IS IT BECAUSE WE'RE LAZY? IS IT OUR ACCENT? IS IT OUR DIFFERENT OUTLOOK ON THINGS? MUGGLE AMERICANS AND BRITISH GET ALONG FINE! WHY CAN'T YOU? WHAT'S WRONG WITH AMERICA? ANSWER ME THAT! GO ON! ANSWER ME!"

The common room was quiet after that tirade. The boy sneered at Peck, "America is a place for stuck up people. You all have your nice and pretty toys you can afford and play with. You think you're the best country in the world and everyone else is inferior. Well guess what? You're not. I think my fellow Gryffindors agree when I say you and your friend don't belong here."

"I don't know about everyone else, but I say these two boys DO belong here!"

Peck turned around to find Ginny advancing on the boy. She looked like an angry Rhinoceros. The boy, sensing her rage, started to cower.

"Ginny! What are you doing here? Get back before you get hurt!" It was obvious this boy had a crush on Ginny.

"How DARE you insult Peck and Phoenix! They are two of the nicest people I have EVER met, and that's saying something." She paused only for a moment to slap the boy. She then started again, this time in a quieter voice, "You don't know what they did last night, do you? They rescued me from Malfoy and his goons, WITHOUT A WAND! They had to take down Crabbe and Goyle first, then get Malfoy, WHO WAS ARMED WITH A WAND! Do you have ANY idea how hard that is?"

"It's probably quite easy, considering-"

"SHUT UP! IT IS NOT EASY TAKING OUT TWO HUMAN BOULDERS! I CAN'T BELIEVE SOME SCUM LIKE YOU WOULD THINK BADLY ABOUT PHOENIX OR PECK!"

"My own housemate, turned against me-"

"YOU GODDAMNED HYPOCRITE! PECK AND PHOENIX ARE HOUSEMATES AND YOU ARE TURNING AGAINST THEM! DON'T GIVE ME THAT HOUSEMATE CRAP WHEN YOU CAN'T BE KIND TO ANOTHER HOUSEMATE!"

At that point, Phoenix had finished making his Stun Pistol. He jammed a cell into the port with a click. He then stood up and pointed it at the boy. With a BANG, a red streak zipped out of the gun and hit him, causing him to slump to the floor. Everyone turned to see the American with his gun pointed at the now unconscious boy.

Phoenix spoke with a deadly quiet tone, "Who else wants some of this?"

Most of the students took out their wands. Actually, all of them did except for Ginny and Peck. They all shouted various curses while Phoenix did a back flip and landed behind a couch. Several seconds later, Ginny and Peck came hurtling over the couch and ducking behind it.

"Thanks for sticking up for us Gin. However, we have a situation here. But I have an idea."

Phoenix quickly duplicated his Stun Pistol twice, and then summoned his other cells. He loaded each of the SPs and handed one to each of his friends.

"I didn't see Ron, Harry, Seamus, Dean, or Neville out there, did you?"

"Nope."

"No. I didn't see Hermione either, which is a relief to me."

"Nuts. Okay, we'll have to take out these traitors ourselves. Gin? You'll stay behind this couch. There are two adjacent couches, which Peck and I will hide behind. We'll fire at will and take out these people single-handedly, and hopefully before breakfast."

"Okay, good luck guys."

"Never fear Gin, Agent Smith is here!" Peck waved his wand and instead of the blond-haired, blue-eyed boy he used to be, there was a man in a tuxedo with a black tie, black pants, black shoes, and wearing a pair of black glasses. He also had black hair.

"Who?"

Phoenix sighed, "It's his alter ego. It's also a villain from a muggle movie called The Matrix (A/N: You gotta love that movie!)."

"Oh."

"Okay, here we go. LET'S MOVE!"

Peck and Phoenix simultaneously cart wheeled to opposite couches, narrowly avoiding curses sent at them. Once they were safe, Phoenix continued to talk.

"Okay, these babies can fire twenty shots before they need to reload. Also, seeing as Peck has his alter ego, I may as well turn into mine."

Phoenix waved his wand at himself and he too changed. Instead of his red hair, he had black hair. His eyes were covered by a pair of dark sunglasses. He was wearing a black trench coat, a black undershirt, a black pair of pants, and black boots. Peck looked at him approvingly.

"Welcome aboard Neo."

"Alright, we should get up now and shoot the crap out of those traitors."

"What are we waiting for? Let's go!"

The three jumped up, just enough to expose their head and hands, which were both holding their guns. The rest of their body was under the protection of the couch. Their arms were on the top of the couch for stability. They all began to fire red bolts at the Gryffindors, Peck and Phoenix more accurately than Ginny, but then again, they've been practicing for three years. One by one, the Gryffindors fell. Several times the three were forced to duck under the couch to avoid a curse and then come back up again.

"Ha ha! This is better than Time Crisis III!"

After a five-minute skirmish, all of the Gryffindors were on the ground, stunned. Ginny, "Agent Smith", and "Neo" were sporting only small cuts and in Peck's case, wobbly legs (which were quickly remedied by the proper counter-curse).

At that point, the other five Gryffindor sixth year boys and Hermione came down. They looked around the common room and then at the three gunslingers.

"Okay, who are you two and what did you and Gin do?"

Peck, smirking at the opportunity to play with Seamus' head, walked forward and began to talk.

"Mr. Finnigan, welcome back. It's a shame you weren't here for the, shall we say, manslaughter that took place only minutes before you arrived. Your assistance would have been greatly appreciated in bringing down a third year traitor known only as..."

"Devon." Ginny helped him out.

"Yes, Devon. For some preposterous reason, he thought that Americans are scum. For that matter, everyone you see here thought along the same lines. Now, we couldn't allow that, so naturally, they were deleted."

"You don't mean they're... DEAD?"

Phoenix cut in, playing along. "No, no, of course not. They were only stunned, and will remain that way until they finally get enough sense not to mess with me or Agent Smith here."

"Who ARE you two?"

"Sorry. My name is Neo. This here," He gestured to Peck, "is Agent Smith. Normally, he would be trying to blast my head off. However, there is currently a truce between the machines and the humans."

"What are you talking about? Who's Ne- ooooooooh." (A/N: Ne-ooooooooooo. Hee hee) It finally dawned on him. He smirked, "If you're Neo, where's Trinity?"

"What are you talking about? She's right here."

Phoenix waved his wand at Ginny, and in her place stood a girl with long black hair tied up in a bun. She too had glasses on. She was wearing a tight leather jacket, which was zipped up, so you couldn't see anything under it. She also had a pair of tight leather pants on. Seamus looked at her.

"Hey, that was a spiffy spell. Who are you? Seriously."

Phoenix waved his wand at himself, and in moments, the usual Phoenix was there. Peck did the same thing.

"That's cool!"

"Thanks, I think we should go down to breakfast now..."

They heard coughing behind them to find Gin- er, "Trinity" lightly tapping her foot and her arms folded across her chest.

"If you don't mind, I'd like to be changed back into Ginny."

"No problemo." A few seconds later, Ginny was where Trinity had stood.

"Alright, let's go."

"But, what about everyone else?" That would be Hermione.

"What about them?"

"They're all stunned!"

"Who cares?"

"ME!"

Phoenix sighed.

"Fine."

Phoenix, Peck, Ginny, and Hermione proceeded to enervate everyone. When they got up, they saw three Stun Pistols pointed at them.

"I suggest you don't try to fight us again, seeing how we were able to kick your butt so easily."

Devon the third year spat at Phoenix, causing Ginny to walk forward, "Oh yes, I almost forgot." SMACK! "Now, get out of my sight you stupid git."

All of the other students walked out of the common room, spitting at Peck and Phoenix as they passed. Once everyone had left save Ginny, Hermione, and the sixth year boys, they turned to each other.

"Well Hermione, NOW can we go and have breakfast?"

Through out the day, people would avoid Peck and Phoenix, and it wasn't only the Gryffindors. The Slytherins were horrible in their own twisted way, laughing and pointing at them, not to mention spreading nasty rumors about "those scummy Americans". The only ones who seemed to stick up for Phoenix and Peck were Ginny, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Seamus, Dean, and Neville, and the two boys were grateful for that. The only other people who acted nice to Peck and Phoenix were the teachers (except for Snape. But then again, he's always being a bloody git).

8:45 p.m. found Peck and Phoenix trying to improve the Stun Pistol, Ginny reading a book on the couch, Hermione finishing up her last essay that was assigned that day, and the other five boys in their room doing god knows what. The two experimenters seemed to be making some progress...

"Phoenix, seriously. If we could just make the trigger make the spells think the proper incantation was being spoken..."

"But Peck, HOW do you trick a spell?"

"Well Phoenix, that's OUR job to figure out, right?"

Sighing, Phoenix said, "Yeah, but not right now. Gin? We've got to go down to the Great Hall for our detention. I'll be right back."

Phoenix ran back into his room and got about 10 JLC4s, performed a shrinking charm on them, and stowed them away in his robes. He then ran downstairs, gathered up his pistols, and took them back into his room. When he came downstairs again, he said, "Okay, I'm done. Let's go."

The three walked downstairs and headed towards the Great Hall. When they got there, they saw the caretaker and his cat.

"Well, well, well, the trouble makers are here early. Eager to finish early, eh? Well, it won't matter, your detention ends at exactly eleven o' clock. No earlier, no later."

"Whatever."

"Alright, over here are some mops, along with scrubbers, and soap. There's also wax for the tables. Alright, what are you waiting for? GET TO WORK!"

The old geezer only stayed long enough to watch the three get started, he then hobbled off with his cat at his heels, no doubt looking around for more troublemakers.

Did you know it's extremely boring to mop and scrub floors? Oh yes, it's extremely dull. That is, unless you make up a game, which makes it quite fun...

"And they're off! With Peck in the lead, but Phoenix close behind. What's this? Phoenix passes Peck's MopKart as they round the first table. Down they go! They're like speed demons these two! Phoenix cuts off Peck, who was attempting to take the inside corner. Not today Peck! Down they go again! Goodness, they look like blurs! Now they're rounding the third corner. Wow! Peck was able to take the inside corner, passing Phoenix. Great pass Peck! Okay, as they round the fourth table, they're on the final leg of the race. This fact seems to egg Phoenix on a bit, 'cause he's caught up with Peck. It's Phoenix! No, Peck! No, Phoenix! No, Peck! My, this is close! Well, we'll find out in a few short seconds who- and it's Phoenix with the win! The winner takes a well deserved victory lap around the hall!"

Phoenix was, in fact, taking his MopKart around the perimeter of the hall. Ginny then hopped on her MopKart and joined Phoenix and Peck in swabbing the floor. (A/N: Okay, for those of you who are confused, they jinxed their mops to act like Go-Karts. They installed seats on the handle and a steering device so they could race around the hall while mopping.)

At around 10, they finished mopping and started waxing the tables. Phoenix grinned. This was the part he was waiting for.

"I'll do the Slytherin table, guys."

"Why?"

"Let's say I have a few, ahem, surprises for them for the stunt Malfoy pulled yesterday."

"Oh joy."

"Well, let's get to work!"

They each took a can of wax and a towel and started waxing the different tables. Ginny was waxing the Hufflepuff table, Peck was waxing the Ravenclaw table, and Phoenix was waxing, like he said, the Slytherin table. After charming his rag to wax on its own, he went under the table and took out his JLC4s. After resizing them he started to attach him at regular points along the underside of the table. After they were all placed, he went back and disillusioned them. He got back up from under the table and continued to wax the table. That done he helped the other two until they were done with their table. Then, all three of them did the Gryffindor table, doing a far better job with it than the other two. They finished at about two minutes to 11:00. After Filch came in and shooed them out, they trudged back to the common room. On the way, Ginny turned to look at Phoenix.

"Why did you want to do the Slytherin table?"

Phoenix only grinned and said, "you'll see tomorrow."

Once again, Phoenix woke up bright and early in the morning. However, instead of taking a shower, he duplicated his Stun Gun (he thought that sounded better than "Stun Pistol") and proceeded to make more Stun Cells. Once he was satisfied with his work, he turned into Neo and walked downstairs, a gun in each hand. When he walked into the common room, there were people there who were talking. Once they saw him, they became quiet. Phoenix raised his guns.

"One move towards your wands and you are toast, so don't try me."

"Who are you?"

"I am Neo."

Several kids broke into laughter.

"Neo eh? Where's Agent Smith?"

"Right here."

Peck walked out, two Stun Guns in his hands. He too had them trained on the crowd.

"You obsolete programs are no match for an Agent. We are flawless and will delete you at the slightest provocation."

Several kids looked from Phoenix to Peck with confusion. One of them finally spoke up.

"Smith, aren't you supposed to be blowing Neo' head off?"

"It's called a truce you nitwit." That was Phoenix.

"Hey! Don't call me a nitwit!"

"I'm sorry, I meant lunkhead."

The kid made a movement towards his wand, but that's all he did, for he fell to the ground a second after that.

"Anyone else want to try me?"

They all shook their heads.

"Good, continue talking."

Everyone obeyed and went back to their previous conversations.

Peck and Phoenix summoned several stun cells, walked over to a corner, sat down, and commenced work on improving the Stun Gun's spell release system. Peck sighed.

"It's going to be a loooooong morning, isn't it?"

"Yup, now let's get to work."

"Well Peck, it appears we've got the formula down. Now all we have to do is put it to work." Phoenix said brightly. Peck groaned.

"Phoenix, must you always incorporate math and formulas into everything you do?"

"Yup! Why do you ask?"

"Never mind."

At that moment, their friends walked down the stairs.

"Hey guys, I think we should head down into the Great Hall for breakfast."

"Okay, I'll be right back." Phoenix bolted upstairs, grabbed a device with a button on it, and raced back downstairs. Ginny noticed the device in his hands.

"Phoenix? What are you holding?"

Phoenix merely grinned, "Oh, you'll see soon enough."

They walked into the Great Hall and over to the Gryffindor table. Once they sat down, people started to edge away from them. Phoenix then turned to his friends.

"Okay, do you really want to know what this is?"

"Yes!"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes!"

"Are you positive?"

"Yes!"

"Are you positive you're sure?"

"YES!"

"Are you doubly positively sure?"

They all yelled at him, "TELL US ALREADY!"

That got the group quite a few stares, causing them to quiet down.

"Okay, in ten seconds I will press the button and you will see what it does. Ten"

"Why don't you tell us instead?"

"Nine."

"Just tell us."

"Eight."

"Phoenix! I'm getting nervous!"

"Seven."

"Seriously dude, tell us."

"Six."

"Come on!"

"Five."

"I give up."

"Four."

"I'll just have to find out the hard way."

"Three."

"Here we go."

"Two."

"Oh no."

"One."

"Here comes the apocalypse."

"Zero."

Phoenix pressed the button and it seemed as if dynamite had been set in the Great Hall. However, that wasn't too far from the truth, for the button was the detonator for the JLC4s hidden under the Slytherin table. All of the Slytherins were thrown from their benches onto the floor as a shockwave hit them. As they tried to get up, they found they could not, courtesy of the Jelly Legs Curse implemented into the explosives.

Phoenix grinned and whispered into Ginny's ear, "Revenge is sweet isn't it?"

A/N: I don't own Strongbad, or the Trogdor song. That would belong to 


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Team Matrix and Halloween Pranks

Phoenix and Peck were walking towards their common room, laughing. Classes had been cancelled that day due to the "catastrophe" during breakfast. Since Phoenix made the detonator disappear after he used it, the staff was unable to pin him as the culprit, though he was sure Dumbledore had an idea that it was them. It was quite entertaining to watch the Slytherins struggle to get up with the Jelly Legs Curse placed on them. They gave the Fat Lady the password and walked in. Everyone inside turned and glared at them. Phoenix feigned surprise.

"Wow, if this is how it's gonna go all year, it's going to be a long year. Now, if you don't mind, Peck and I have important business to do, so quit staring and get back to work soldiers."

Devon laughed, "You think you can boss us around? I'm not going to let trash like you tell me what to do."

Peck curled his hands into fist, and put them up, "You want to mess?"

Devon did the same thing, "Hell yeah!"

"You're fighting a losing battle buddy."

"You can talk the talk, but can you walk the walk?"

Peck merely grinned.

"Watch me." He ran at Devon and before he could react, Peck had side kicked him in the stomach. But that was all he did. Yes, Peck was a humane person and preferred not do overkill. He knew he hit Devon hard as the boy had keeled over.

"So, can I walk the walk Devon?"

Devon was just barely able to choke out, "Go to hell you jerk."

Peck grinned again.

"Do I have any other takers? No? Good, now GET BACK TO WORK SOLDIERS!"

This time, they all went back to what they were doing. Phoenix and Peck went to "their corner" and went back to work applying Phoenix's theory about the stun gun (A/N: I am NOT going to tell you the theory, 'cause I'm too lazy to make one up). After about an hour and a half of them working and reworking Phoenix's theory, it appeared that they had it.

"Well Peck, thirty guns later, it seems we have the desired results."

"Which are?"

"Well, let me put it to you this way: Would you rather have a stun gun that has the trigger pull a latch, which might be flimsy, and release bouncing spells, which might decrease the accuracy? Or would you rather have a gun with a cell that absorbs the essence of the spell and can unleash it in an orderly fashion at the pull of a trigger, no latch?"

"Okay, good point. It makes more sense now."

"Hmm, I wonder where Harry & Co. are?" Said Phoenix, who was currently vanishing all of his primitive stun guns and stun cells while Peck was duplicating the new ones.

"Beats me. Maybe we can find 'em and open fire on 'em when we find 'em!"

"Umm, Peck?"

"Yeah?"

"What's with the "'em"s?

"What? You got a problem with my "'em"s?"

"Yeah."

"Well, TOO BAD FOR YOU!"

Phoenix sighed.

"We'd better find them. Load your S.G. Peck."

"Yay! Here we go!"

Phoenix and Peck loaded their Stun Guns with full cells and started to walk around in search of their companions. First they went to the Astronomy Tower in hopes of getting a view of the grounds, where their friends might possibly be. Instead, they got a view of two 7th years snogging. They quickly evacuated the tower.

"Well, THAT is most certainly not a place where we'll find 'em. I'll bet those two students didn't notice us."

"Well, we'd better continue searching..."

"Right."

Next, they decided to race through the halls and chance upon their friends.

"LEFT!"

"RIGHT!"

"SPLIT!" They said in unison. So Phoenix went left and Peck went right and they converged at the next intersection. They scourged nearly the entire castle, quite an accomplishment for two 6th year boys. Unfortunately, they didn't find their incognito friends.

"Well, they're probably on the grounds."

"True, true, very true."

They walked onto the grounds and hugged the castle walls, hoping not to be noticed. As they rounded the corner, they saw their friends sitting by the lake, watching the giant squid lazily swim around and enjoying the bright and sunny day. They immediately jumped back behind the wall.

"Tango spotted! I repeat, Tango is spotted!"

"Yes Peck, I saw 'em too."

"HYPOCRITE!"

"Huh?"

"YOU SAID YOU DIDN'T LIKE MY "'EM"S, AND HERE YOU ARE, 'EMING ME!"

"Okay! Okay! I'm a hypocrite. Shut up before they hear you." Phoenix looked around the corner and saw that Harry & Co. had miraculously been oblivious to Peck's shouting.

"Alright Peck. Gun loaded?"

"And locked." He grinned.

"Let's go."

They ran around the corner and charged at their friends, yelling and occasionally firing their guns (they were saving that for close range). What followed was confusion and shouts from Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Dean, Seamus, and Neville. As Phoenix and Peck zeroed in on their targets, they started rapid firing, "missing" the entire time. By the time they reached the lakes edge where their friends were, they realized too late that they couldn't stop their momentum. Throwing their guns over their shoulders in an effort to save their work, they plowed into the water. When they surfaced, they spurted water from their mouths like whales.

"Wow! That was cool Peck!"

"You're telling me! Let's do that again!"

The others only blinked.

"Umm, can I ask what you are doing?"

"Sure you can ask! Ask away!"

Harry, surprised at getting that response, said, "Erm, okay. What are you doing?"

"Why, we're swimming silly! Can't you see th-AAAAAAAHHHHH!"

It appeared that the giant squid was annoyed at the disturbance and had used a tentacle to catapult Peck out of the water and onto dry land. Phoenix followed him shortly after.

"Hey! That was cool! Let's go into the water again so he'll catapult us out."

"Peck?"

"Yeah?"

"How 'bout, no?"

Peck put on a mock hurt face.

"Phoenix! You big meanie! Fine, I won't! Happy?"

"Yes."

Harry cleared his throat and the two quarreling friends turned and looked at him.

"Okay, let me rephrase my question: Why did you attack us?"

"Well, we wanted to test out our new and improved S.G.s!"

"Okay, weird."

"Got a problem with my special condition of weirdness?"

"No."

"Good!"

Phoenix merely shook his head. Harry seemed to have an idea.

"Hey, remember that prank you pulled today?"

"It was today Harry, how could we forget something as big as that if it happened on the same day?"

"That's not the point. Point is, while my dad was at school, he and his friends formed a group who called themselves the Marauders."

"Cool. You're point?"

"We could do the same thing."

"Sounds interesting... I have an idea! You know how I play Agent Smith and Phoenix plays Neo?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, we already have a Trinity, Gin. So we could have a Team Matrix! We just need to find characters for you guys!"

Most of them had blank faces.

"Huh?"

"I TOLD you guys! The Matrix is a muggle movie, which Peck and I happen to like! It'd be cool, having alter egos and stuff."

"Whatever, but YOU are supplying the alter egos."

"No duh. Okay, Well, we need another female character for Herm. That's easy: Naobi."

Phoenix flicked his wand at Hermione and in her place, stood Naobi (A/N: I'm too lazy to give a description for everyone).

"Okay, So now we need a character for Ron. Got one! Morpheus!"

Another flick of Pheonix's wand and Ron was an exact duplicate of Morpheus.

"How 'bout Harry is Link?"

Another flick. Harry became Link (A/N: NO, not the Link from Legend of Zelda, the Link from The Matrix).

"Hmm, Seamus and Dean would be a good pair for the Ghost Brothers, don't you think?"

Another flick and the Ghost Brothers joined their ranks.

"And Neville can be Ghost. No, not a Ghost Brother, Ghost. Remember him Phoenix?"

"Yup." Phoenix flicked his wand and Neville became Ghost. Phoenix turned Ginny into Trinity, himself into Neo, and Peck turned himself into Agent Smith

"So, here's Team Matrix."

'Naobi' cleared her throat.

"Um, we don't know how to perform the alter ego spells..."

"Good point, we'll help you with that."

So they spent the better part of an hour learning how to transform themselves into their alter egos. After Neville was able to successfully turn into Ghost several times on his own, Harry spoke.

"Well, they certainly don't teach this stuff here at Hogwarts."

"Nup."

Dean rubbed his hands together.

"So, Team Matrix will wreak havoc in Hogwarts! Can we reach the ranks of the Twins? Or, dare I say it? The Marauders?"

"We'll have to see Dean..."

So, the newest group of pranksters plagued Hogwarts, focusing on Slytherin like their predecessors had done. Of course, they didn't do anything radical. Not yet anyway. Hermione and Ron were a little reluctant to do anything major, due to their status as Prefect. Another interesting thing is that they hadn't used their alter egos yet. They saved those for their housemates and for the eventual "big" pranks. In addition, Peck was adamant on teaching his fellow Gryffindors Martial Arts, probably to fit with their alter egos. He also tried to teach them some gymnastics so they could pull off some cool moves, but that was to no avail. Before long, Halloween rolled around the corner. On the day before, during dinner, Dumbledore stood up.

"As you all know, tomorrow is Halloween, as well as a Hogsmeade visit for third years and up. The staff and heads have decided to host a Halloween ball for fourth years and up, seeing as the Yule Ball two years ago was such a big hit (A/N: Yes, I KNOW balls have been overused, but I thought 'what the heck? If you can't fight 'em, join 'em!'). However, it will not be your typical ball. It will be sort of like a party as well: more socializing and less formal dancing. You can come in a costume, but please, no pumpkins. They hurt my poor eyes."

As he sat down everyone started whispering. Team Matrix looked at each other. Neville spoke up, "Well I have two things to say: 1) This looks like a ripe time for Team Matrix to strike. 2) Does anyone have a plan for who they're going with to the ball?"

Neville, it seemed had gained a great boost in confidence as a result of being part of Team Matrix. He was most likely getting more self-esteem because he wasn't being shunted to the side or excluded because everyone thought he was incompetent. Since Team Matrix included him in ALL of their excursions, not to mention giving him key parts in many, Neville was becoming a better wizard in altogether.

Peck decided to answer Neville's second comment, "Oh, you know who I'm going with! Now would be a perfect time for Phoenix and I to let the truth out about us!"

Phoenix playing along, spoke too, "Oh yes! But should we dare, Peck darling? We might not be accepted!"

"It's not like we aren't already shunted. Besides, my love for you is too great to hide any longer. Come here Phoenix darling!"

The two moved towards each other and were about to "make out" when they heard retching. They turned to see Ginny pretending to lose her lunch.

"Get a room you two. But seriously, does anyone have an idea of who they're going to go with?"

Peck, still wanting to be evil, spoke yet again, "Oh, isn't the answer obvious for Ron and Hermione? I mean, they're both prefects, they've been friends for six years, Ron was SOOOO jealous when she danced with Krum (Harry had told them about that), and they've always seemed to be more productive in our pranks when paired together!"

The two students in question blushed profusely. Ron was able to mutter a "shut up" to Peck before he ducked under the table.

Seamus spoke, "I'll probably go with Parvati."

"Yeah, and I'll probably go with Lavender." That was Dean.

Ron, who had surfaced, blush gone, smirked, "Gin? Are you going with Neville again?"

The two in question blushed. It appeared Ron wanted to get someone else to blush. It worked.

"Shut it Ron." Ginny muttered.

"Okay, but seriously Neville, do you have an idea of who to go with?"

He looked down at his food.

"Well, there's this fifth year Gryffindor girl, Gin might know her. Elizabeth Barrington?"

"Oh! Yeah, I know Beth. She's one of my friends, actually."

"Yeah, her. I'm planning on asking her."

The talk then turned to Peck.

"But guys! I want to go with Phoenix! I told you!"

"It's getting old real fast Peck."

"Oh fine! Truth be told, I was planning on asking a Ravenclaw girl. Name's Alexandra Whitts. That way, I have a date to the ball -party, whatever you want to call it-, but it probably won't be a serious relationship. I'm not that kind of guy."

"Oh? So you're the kind of guy who plays with a girl, and when she gets old, you dump her like a toy?"

Peck sighed, "Hermione, you are way to paranoid of men thinking they're superior to women and such. What I meant by my statement was that I envision myself as a bachelor when I grow up."

"Oh. Okay, how 'bout you Harry?"

"Well, Cho seems to have calmed down from last year and is back to liking me again..."

Ginny nearly exploded.

"You are planning on going with that, that THING? Do you remember how much trouble she gave you last year?"

"Gin, calm down. I remember, but she seems to be over that, like I said."

"Whatever." However, Ginny seemed to be noticeably downcast after that.

"Well Gin, who are YOU planning on going with?"

She muttered something inaudible to the human ear.

"Sorry, I wasn't able to hear what you said. Could you repeat that? A bit louder?"

"I said, I don't know."

Phoenix, feeling sorry for the girl, said, "Oh come now! Don't feel bad! Here, I'LL go with you. How's that?"

She looked up at him, hope shining in her eyes.

"You will?"

"Sure I will!"

She hugged him tightly for a good five seconds. A whistling was heard.

"Well Phoenix! I most certainly don't imagine YOU as a bachelor!"

"Oh, shut it Peck. But seriously, I was planning on asking Gin anyway, considering how incredibly hot and se-"SMACK!

"Ow, Gin! What was that for? I was complimenting your body!" SMACK!

"Phoenix? Can I have a talk with you? In private?" Ginny asked sweetly.

"Uh, sure. Yeah." Phoenix, still rubbing his cheek, followed Ginny out of the hall. Once they were out of earshot from everyone else, she rounded on him.

"Phoenix! Do you think I LIKE a boy talking about my body like that?"

"Uh, yes?" SMACK!

"Okay, no."

"Good. Now, why did you do that?"

"Because I was telling the truth." SMACK!

"I mean, I wanted to annoy you. I've been proudly annoying girls since 2001!"

"Phoenix, it's not good to annoy girls."

"Yeah, especially fiery redheaded vixens like yourself." The boy muttered.

"I heard that, but I'll let it slide."

"Okay, can we go back to eating now?"

"Yes."

The two walked back into the hall, over to the Gryffindor table, and sat down next to a smirking Team Matrix.

"So Phoenix, what did Gin do to you?"

"She walked outside with me to confess her undying love to me." SMACK!

"I mean, she scolded me for talking about her incredibly hot body like I am now." SMACK!

"You know, I get all tingly when you smack me."

"Hmm, maybe it's because I'm killing your nerves when I smack you."

"No, I think it's more of an emotional thing." SMACK!

"Alright! Alright! Nerves being fried!"

Despite the fact that Phoenix pissed Ginny to no ends, they still planned on going to the party together. In the Gryffindor common room later that night, several people walked up to Phoenix and spat at him, saying "he doesn't deserves someone like Ginny", that "he was too scummy for someone of her stature", or "he should hang with his lowlife friend and not go with Ginny."

However, Phoenix calmly ignored these remarks and continued to stare at the fire, which was what he was doing while his housemates threw those derogatory remarks at him. Truth be told, he was getting inspiration for his next experiment from the fire. He knew making a spell-casting Assault Rifle was going to be their next project (they called the project WAR, for Wizarding Assault Rifle). However, the fire was making Phoenix think of creating a more powerful, weapon, though it wasn't a gun. A problem with his plan was that his idea was going to be FAR more complicated than changing a bullet-firing gun into a spell-casting gun.

He was planning on making a Fire Pill.

Now, he was still formulating his thoughts about this Fire Pill, so he wasn't 100 sure on how he was going to do it. However, he was pretty certain on how to ingest it, via pill (hence the name "Fire Pill"). He also had a specific desired effect in mind: he wanted the user to have the ability to manipulate and shoot fire. He had originally thought of a flamethrower, but that required fuel or his wand, and quite frankly, he didn't want to singe his precious wand.

He was interrupted from his thoughts when Ginny walked over to his chair and sat down next to him.

"What're you thinking about? I hope you aren't getting annoyed by the remarks our Gryffindor fellows are making."

"Ah, I'm not even listening to them. I'm thinking about you and your se-"

"Watch it."

"Oh, alright. I was thinking about my newest experiment. Well, it technically isn't my newest experiment, since Peck and I are planning on starting project WAR. But I really want to do something else. Besides, I think he can handle it himself."

"Really? And what did you have in mind for your experiment?"

"A Fire Pill."

"A what?"

"A Fire Pill. It's still in the design stages, so I'm not sure how it's gonna work. However, I have the desired effects in mind already."

"And those are?"

"The ability to manipulate and shoot fire."

"That's quite an optimistic goal you have there, Phoenix."

"Like I said, it's still in the design stages, so I'm not sure how I'm gonna do it. I'll probably have to take out several books from the library about elemental magic."

"Wow, seems like a lot of work."

"Yeah, but if it works, it'll be worth the work to be able to manipulate fire..." Phoenix's eyes glazed over.

"Whoa there Phoenix! Don't switch into pyromaniac mode on me!"

That snapped him out of it.

"Meh, sorry Gin. It's just that the thought of being able to handle fire without getting burned-"

"Without getting burned? You never mentioned that!"

"It's implied in the desired effects Gin. I mean, who would want to handle fire even though they'll get burned? That's stupid."

"True, true."

At that moment, the portrait swung open and in walked an angry looking Peck. Phoenix, pretty sure as to what happened got up and walked over to him. Peck answered Phoenix's question without the boy even asking.

"She turned me down. Said she deserved better than trash like me. Piece o' shit. I swear I will get my revenge on her. Just you wait and see."

Apparently the whole common room heard his words, for they immediately broke out laughing. Phoenix withdrew his stun gun from its holster on his belt (yes he made a holster). So did Ginny and Peck. Also, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Neville, Dean, and Seamus were in the room, so they drew theirs too. The crowd immediately shut up.

"Much better."

Phoenix sighed, "Alright Team Matrix, TO THE PLANNING ROOM!"

They all trooped up to the sixth year boys dormitories, sat down in a circle, and began to plot their Halloween prank (and Peck's revenge)...

The next morning once again found Phoenix singing in the shower.

"YO! YO! YO! MY NAME IS JOE! I WANNA CHICKEN WITH A FRO, BUT MY MAMMA SAYS NO! MY MAMMA SAYS NO TO MY CHICKEN WITH A FRO, YOU KNOW WHY? 'CAUSE I WOULDN'T EAT MY VEGGIE PIE!"

"PHOENIX! SHUT UP!"

"BUT THAT'S RAP AT ITS FINEST!"

"THAT SUCKS!"

"THAT'S MY POINT!"

"WHATEVER PHOENIX! JUST SHUT UP!"

"I'M DONE WITH MY SHOWER NOW! SO YOU HAVE BEEN SPARED YET AGAIN! NOW, LET'S GO BREAK OPEN THAT GLOWSTICK AND POUR IT INTO DEVON'S MOUNTAIN DEW!"

"PHOENIX! WE DON'T HAVE A GLOWSTICK AND DEVON DOESN'T DRINK MOUNTAIN DEW!"

"SO? WHO CARES?"

It went on like that for quite a while...

Once all of Team Matrix was awake and ready for the day, they met up in the common room and walked out towards the Great Hall to go to Hogsmeade. They were chatting.

"Do you think the prank will work?"

"Of course Dean! Neville never lets us down! Isn't that right Neville?"

The boy's cheeks flushed red, "You're too kind Phoenix."

"That's not my point. The point is you are the one who charmed the pumpkins, right? Thus, we can all rest assured that the prank will go well."

Once Filch checked their names, they set off for Hogsmeade, continuing to talk about the prank that would be pulled off. When they finally arrived at the town, their first stop was The Three Broomsticks. They sat down at a table while Peck and Phoenix went to get the drinks. They walked up to the counter. A lady came out and looked at them.

"Hello, what can I get you today?"

"You're Madam Rosmerta, right?"

"That's me. How about you two?"

"I'm Peck."

"And I'm Phoenix."

"Oh, I've heard quite a bit about you two. The ringleaders of the newest prankster team at Hogwarts."

The two bowed.

"Why, thank you for that noble title, M'lady."

She laughed.

"So, what can I get you?"

"Seven Butterbeers and two Firewhiskeys."

"Right. That's nine Butterbeers coming right up."

"Hey! I said seven Butterbeers and two Firewhiskeys."

"I know you said nine Butterbeers. What's the problem?"

"Never mind."

She left and came back a short while later with nine tankards filled with foamy goodness.

"Here you are boys, though I can't see why you'd want nine when you'd only need two..."

"Har, Har. Now how much will that be?"

"Oh, it's on the house. If you're anything like the Marauders, I daresay I'll have plenty of entertainment to last me quite a while. So here's to your success."

"Why thank you M'lady."

The two boys returned to their table, arms laden with Butterbeers.

"Help us out here, would you?" Said Peck through gritted teeth.

So each of their friends took a tankard from their arms, thanking them. Once everyone was settled down and enjoying their drinks, they began making plans for the day.

"Okay, you two just HAVE to see Honeydukes. You won't believe the sweets they have there."

"Sounds good to me. What else does this place have that's worthwhile seeing?"

Ron started ticking off his fingers.

"There's Zonko's Joke Shop, that was a favorite of Fred's and George's, the Post Office, that place has SO many owls, the Shrieking Shack, you know about that story, and loads of other cool stores for things like robes, trinkets, food, you name it."

After they finished their Butterbeers, they walked out of the pub and onto the street towards Honeydukes. They walked inside and started looking around at the sweets (Peck was particularly fascinated by the Fizzing Whizbees). Once they had bought a fair amount of candy, they left. Phoenix dug into his bag and took out an Acid Pop. He had no idea what it was, the name just intrigued him.

"Wonder what this tastes like?"

He took off the wrapper and was about to put it into his mouth.

"PHOENIX! NO! THAT'LL BURN YOUR TONGUE!"

Too late, he started sucking on it, but only for a second. He immediately took it out of his mouth and looked around at the amused faces of his colleagues.

"Ow?" His voice was barely audible.

"Well, that should teach you not to eat what you don't know!" Hermione of course.

"Hermione, lay off the poor lad. His ego doesn't need anymore deflating."

"Water, anyone?"

"Sorry mate. Can't say I have any."

Phoenix nodded, though he looked like Peck had said his death sentence. He immediately bolted for the nearest food shop, coming back ten minutes later with an empty cup in his hands.

"Ah, nothing like a cup of hot chocolate on a cold, winter's day!"

"Phoenix, it's not winter yet."

"Your point?"

"Forget it."

They continued walking along, stopping by the Post Office. Phoenix decided to send a letter to his mom using one of the bigger owls (he highly doubted one of the "midget owls" would be able to make the transatlantic journey) that they had to offer. Next up was Zonko's. They spent the better part of an hour in there, Ron pointing out various jokes and Phoenix or Peck snatching one, intending to buy it. They bought so many products, that the manager let the teenagers have some of the items free. They then walked on to the famous Shrieking Shack. The nine Gryffindors paused for a moment to stop and look at it in reverence, reflecting on their memories in that shack. Well, Dean, Seamus, Neville, Ginny, Phoenix, and Peck were thinking about the stories the other three had told them. Peck was the first one to snap out of it.

"So, where to next?"

"SHOPPING!" squealed Hermione and Ginny simultaneously.

"Oookay. Shopping it is then..."

At around four, Team Matrix arrived back at the Gryffindor Tower, arms laden with bags of bought merchandise. They walked up to their respective dorms and put down their burdens. They then met in the common room, all seven boys carrying various Honeydukes sweets, Hermione with a book, and Ginny with her Transfiguration homework. Hermione rolled her eyes at the boys, and the boy rolled their eyes at Hermione.

"Honestly." They all said in unison. It was then that Phoenix noticed what Ginny was doing.

"Hey, need any help with that? Transfiguration is one of my best subjects..."

She merely smiled and responded with a, "Nah, it's okay. Being in Team Matrix has helped me enough."

Phoenix looked perplexed.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Never mind Phoenix, never mind."

Shaking his head, Phoenix walked back to the boys, who were eating their candies while talking. More specifically, talking about Alexandra Whitts.

"Seriously guys! I need a way to seek revenge against that idiot!"

"Don't worry Peck, we are your fellow T.M. members, we won't ignore your request."

"So, does anyone here know anything about this girl?"

Hermione looked up from her book, "She hates gooey things."

"How do you know that Herm?"

"It's Hermione, and it's because I did a DADA project with her last year. We talked quite a bit while working on it."

"Thanks Herm."

"Mione." She muttered under her breath.

"So, how can we use that against her?"

Phoenix grinned, "I have just the right idea, and it involves are Halloween prank..."

"That's brilliant Phoenix!"

The boy took a bow, "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you very much! I'm here 'till Tuesday!"

"Har, Har. Listen, we still have several more hours until dinner, what should we do?"

"I have yet another brilliant idea. Peck?"

"Yeah?"

"You know how I'm pretty good at chess?"

"Yeah. So is Ron."

"Exactly."

"What."

"He and I will duke it out. Battle of the chess masters ("COUGH HACK SNORT"). What do you think?"

"Sure, whatever makes you happy Phoenix."

"Great. Ron? Let's get ready to rumble! Accio chess set!"

Phoenix's chessboard and pieces came zooming out of the sixth year dormitories and landed right in front of him. He had the pieces take their positions, and situated himself across from Ron on the battlefield.

"Ready to get a whipping Ron?"

"In your dreams."

"Dreams can come true you know."

"Not this one."

"Bring it!"

Thus one of the greatest battles of wits started, Phoenix and Ron carefully pondering each move they made, weighing out certain choices, catching traps the other had set up. It was getting so interesting, even Hermione stopped reading her book and decided to watch. The two battlers had their eyebrows furrowed. Ron was deciding what to do, and Phoenix waiting for his move.

"Rook to H4."

Phoenix cracked a smile, "Ron, you silly boy. You've just given me your queen."

Ron's eyebrows furrowed even more, "No I haven't, what do you mean?"

Phoenix merely grinned, "Bishop to F7."

Ron watched in horror as his precious queen was side-kicked by Phoenix's bishop. Phoenix merely nodded in approval.

"Your martial arts training is shaping out quite nicely Rhuun."

"Thank you sir. I've been practicing for quite some time."

Ron watched with a mixture of interest and pain, "You're training your chess pieces?"

"Why not? It adds flavor to the set and makes for an interesting game."

"Whatever."

The battle raged on. Ron was fighting heroically, despite the fate of his queen. Finally, after about two hours, Phoenix said the fateful words:

"Knight to D3. Checkmate, I win."

Ron stared at Phoenix with amazement and wonder in his eyes.

"You... beat me."

"I sure did."

"Not even Bill can beat me anymore and believe me, he's a mastermind when it comes to chess."

"Well, I envision more interesting nights in the future. However, it is almost time for dinner. It's Showtime boys (COUGH), and girls."

"That's more like it."

The nine friends made their way down to the Great Hall. They situated themselves at the Gryffindor table and awaited the arrival of the other students. Finally, after about 15 minutes, the Great Hall was filled with the whole school's population. Dumbledore stood up and the school was silent.

"Well, Happy Halloween everyone! I hope the third years and up enjoyed their Hogsmeade visit? Yes? Good! Well, it is time to eat. However, I believe we have some entertainment before we do. Five, four, three, two, one..."

The floating Jack-O-Lanterns burst out in song, singing various Christmas Carols in off-key voices, thus causing discord to erupt in the hall. Several students laughed. After about five minutes, the caroling pumpkins stopped singing, and in unison, said, "IT'S TIME FOR SOME FIREWORKS!"

Several pumpkins exploded in mid-air, causing its guts to land all over the place. More and more pumpkins were making spectacular explosions, while the students screamed. However, adrenaline-loving students were looking at the explosions and saying things like "Cool!" and "Awesome!". Phoenix took out his wand and aimed it at one pumpkin hovering over the Ravenclaw table. He muttered a few words and the pumpkin zoomed down and hovered right in front of none other than Alexandra Whitts.. Several seconds later, it exploded. An ear splitting scream was emitted from the girls mouth as guts splattered all over her face and robes.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH! GET IT OFF OF ME! GET IT OFF OF ME!"

She ran out of the hall, screaming, while the other students laughed.

"Muahahaha! Revenge is mine!" Muttered Peck.

After several more minutes, no more pumpkins combusted. Dumbledore resumed speaking.

"Did you like it? It wasn't my idea though. You can thank several Gryffindors, whom I'm sure you're quite familiar with..."

There was some clapping, although it was dull and half-hearted. Dumbledore didn't seem to notice.

"Well, now that tonight's entertainment is over, eat up! And please, no food fight this time." His eyes twinkled in jest, as if daring someone to actually start WW IV

Food appeared on the table. Once again, Peck piled up his plate sky-high, and then stuffed it in his mouth like there was no tomorrow. Once again, Phoenix took several portions of meat, cut a piece off, and ate it like a gentleman. Once everyone had finished their meals and desserts, Dumbledore stood up again.

"I would like to remind you that for fourth years and up, there will be a ball/party which starts in about 2 hours. As for the rest of you, to bed!"

There was a mass scuffling of seats as everyone got up to go to their dormitories, some to sleep and some to change. Team Matrix made their way up to the Gryffindor Tower, giving the Fat Lady the password, and plopped down on various couches and chairs. They had a whole 2 hours to burn until they had to go back down to the Great Hall again...

A/N: By the way, in addition to not owning the world of Harry Potter, I don't own the world of "The Matrix" either...


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: The Dance

At about 30 minutes after everyone headed down, the nine students walked up to their dormitories. They had been previously watching Ron and Phoenix battle it out with another chess match, Ron wanted a rematch. After a spectacular victory by Ron, Ginny checked her watch and told them they needed to get ready. They were already 30 minutes late. Once they were in their respective dorms, they changed into their alter egos and picked up their S.G.s (They were going to be forced to change it back to S.P. soon: Peck and Phoenix were commencing work on project WAR). After meeting back up in the common room, Team Matrix walked down to the Great Hall. They were about to walk into the room, when Gin- er, Trinity stopped them.

"What up Trin?"

"Don't you guys think we should make our arrival dramatic?"

"Sure. What'd you have in mind?"

"A staged fight."

"Coolio."

"Alright. Neo and Smith should fight each other, duh. Morpheus and I should fight the Ghost Brothers. And Naobi and Link should fight Ghost. I KNOW Ghost is a good guy, but remember that scene you told me about when he fought Neo? I'm also well aware of the fact that Link is an Operator. So? We wouldn't want to leave Harry out of this."

"True, true. Though I think he should blast open the doors with a spell while we fight."

"Sounds good. Ready?"

"Yup."

"Alright, here I go. Reducto!"

The curse flew at the doors, blasting them open but not damaging them. The other Team Matrix members were already fighting, working their way into the hall, though Peck and Phoenix were more interesting to watch. They had secretly performed a gravity spell, which decreased gravity's effect on them, as if they were on the moon. In addition, they were the two most seasoned fighters. They were doing back flips and colliding in midair, only to repel away from each other with a kick to the stomach.

Meanwhile, Peck's training of Team Matrix was paying off. Dean and Seamus were doing a great job of fighting Ginny and Ron, what with spin kicks, knife hands (A/N: a special martial arts technique, they didn't literally turn their hands into knives), jumping back kicks... you name it, they did it. Harry, Hermione, and Neville were doing a great job, Neville in particular.

Back to Phoenix and Peck, they were running on the walls, leaping at each other, and making contact midair. They were kicking and punching harder because they were used to it, and they were more seasoned fighters. At one point, the two ducked down low, and jumped as high as they could into the air, sailing a good 30 feet. Once again, they met mid-flight and repelled away from each other with a punch to the shoulder.

What Team Matrix didn't notice (yet) was that the whole hall had gone silent, watching the nine students performing a "dance" with punches, kicks, and flips. Several of them even gasped at some of the stunts the Gryffindors were pulling off. One person actually fainted when Peck and Phoenix did several flips into the air and kicked each other, rocketing away from one another.

The rest of the group was starting to get used to their first public stage fight. It appeared that Ginny had taken gymnastics classes, but had hidden the fact in front of Phoenix and Peck, because at one point, Dean kicked her. She flipped backwards to go with the flow, did several handsprings, recovered, and charged at her attacker.

Neville, Harry, and Hermione were really caught up in their fight. At one point, Neville backed away, and landed on one of the house tables. The house tables were being used to hold food, so if anyone was tired from dancing and wanted something to eat or drink, they could go to the house tables. Naturally, Harry and Hermione followed and the three of them started a tricky balancing act while fighting.

Phoenix and Peck noticed this, nodded to each other, and started to work their way over to the tables, fighting all the while. Soon enough, they reached their destination and started circling the tables, glaring at each other. After a long staring contest, the two jumped at each other over the tables, made contact, and fell back, landing with ease and not stepping into any food trays. Soon enough, Ron, Ginny, Seamus, and Dean noticed their comrades fighting on the tables, so they too made their way over there. Before long, the whole group was on the tables, fighting.

Phoenix and Peck were having loads of fun fighting on the tables while balancing and not stepping into any food platters. After one nasty blow, Phoenix jumped back to give himself a breather, and to take a look around. He then noticed a plate of chocolate fudge a few feet behind him. Grinning, he did a backwards handspring, making sure his left hand landed in the plate of the gooey fudge. Once he righted himself, he took aim and chucked his weapon at Peck.

Of course, Peck had to stay in character, so he figured that Agent Smith would most likely just stare at Neo for a few seconds (A/N: can you imagine Agent Smith staring at Neo with fudge dripping down his face? I sure can!). He then shook his head and let out a sigh. He was about to continue the fight, when he noticed Phoenix making a "cut" motion with his hands. The two nodded, then yelled out.

"ENOUGH!"

The rest of their friends heard their cry, stopped fighting, and jumped off of the table. Soon enough, most of the Great Hall was clapping. Of course, the only reason why they were doing so was because they were unaware of the fact that they were clapping for Team Matrix. Only the Gryffindors knew, and they were shaking their heads in disgust.

Once the clapping died down a bit, Dumbledore stood up and spoke.

"Thank you for that amazing display and entertainment. Now then, shall we continue with the dance?"

There was a general agreement in the hall, and everyone resumed what they were doing before Team Matrix had entered.

"There's a good looking one."

"Yeah, she looks good dressed up as a fire faerie..."

Seamus and Dean were talking to each other and looking at the different costumes various girls were wearing. The nine friends were hanging around the food tables, just chatting and watching the dancers. The reason for this was, that Seamus, Dean, Harry, and Neville were also turned down by girls. We already know about Peck. That made five of the friends dateless and only four of them with dates. Therefore, the four who had dates felt bad for their dateless companions, so they agreed to stay with them to chat and make plans for their next prank.

"Hey Phoenix, look at that guy! He actually dressed up as Mario!"

Phoenix laughed.

"He looks like an idiot with a mustache. He even got a buddy of his to be Luigi!"

The two laughed at that, and then went back to looking at the dancers' pathetic attempts at dressing up. One in particular annoyed them to no ends.

"I seriously don't understand WHY about 50 of the male dancers decided to dress up as Robin Hood. I mean, he isn't even that good looking!"

"No kiddin' Peck. I mean, Neo is FAR sexier than that idiot."

"No! Smith is sexier!"

"No, Neo is."

"Smith!"

"Neo!"

"Smith!"

"Neo!"

"Smith!"

"Smith!"

"Neo!"

"Ha! See? I TOLD you Neo was sexier! Even YOU agreed with me!"

"Cheap shot..."

Phoenix was bored. INSANELY bored. However, he was starting to formulate an idea, based on a hit movie series he saw about four years ago... he remembered one guy in particular who all the girls went crazy for. Even his own sister put him on her computer background!

"Hey Peck, remember those Lord of the Rings movies?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Remember LEGOLAS?"

"Yeah, why?"

"How 'bout we play dress up?"

Peck smirked. It was an evil smirk.

"Sounds like fun. One problem though: we'll need a picture of him."

"No problem Peck, no problem."

Phoenix took out his wand, muttered "accio poster", and waited as a life-size poster of Legolas came zooming at Phoenix, hovering in front of him so he could grab it. Peck just stared, then smirked.

"Gosh Phoenix, I never knew you were curved..."

"Oh shut up Peck. My sister got this poster for her birthday several years ago. She had me take it to White's every year for me to remember her by. So, are we ready to get crackin'?"

"You bet."

So the two boys hunched over the poster and started examining it, preparing to play dress up...

"Alright Peck, ya ready to change?"

"I'm ready for more than that Phoenix. I'm ready for girls to come flocking to me like moths to a light."

Phoenix just remained silent.

"Okay, that was a bad example, but you get my point."

Phoenix nodded, then waved his wand at himself. There, where Phoenix once stood, was a perfect replica of Legolas, looking pretty hot as well. Peck did the same thing. The looked at each other and grinned.

"Nice hair Peck."

"Same goes for you Phoenix. Now, all we need is a bow and a quiver..."

"Har har. Ya ready?"

"Yup."

"Alright, we should split up so we each get an even amount of girls."

"Gotcha."

The two nodded at each other and walked off in opposite directions. When Phoenix walked onto the dance floor, girls crowded around him "like moths drawn to a light".

"Why, hello ladies. Why exactly are you crowding around me?"

One girl, dressed up as an Egyptian goddess, spoke.

"We want to dance with you, silly!"

"Oh, but of course. I was merely wondering why you are all dateless."

"Who needs a date when we have you?"

Phoenix laughed. The irony, oh THE IRONY!

"Fair point. Well, as you know, I can only dance with one person..."

All of them proceeded to wave their hands like chickens, shouting things like "Pick me! Pick me!" or "I'm a better dancer than the rest!" Phoenix sighed. He finally picked a girl who was dressed up as Aphrodite. The others stomped off, looking pretty pissed. The girl dressed up as Aphrodite got a dreamy look in her eyes and just looked up at Phoenix.

"Thank you for picking me."

"Ah, 'tis no problem. What is your name?"

"Cindy Dalton."

"Cindy Dalton, eh? I have an aunt named Cindy..." he was lying of course.

"You do? That's totally cool! And may I have the pleasure of knowing who I am dancing with?"

"Legolas Greenleaf."

"Seriously."

"Okay fine. Orlando Bloom." (A/N: cackles insanely)

Cindy sighed and fell into his arms, dancing dreamily with the rhythm.

Meanwhile, Peck was having similar luck with girls. When he had to pick which girl to dance with, he decided to go with one dressed up as the Aztec God, Quetzalcoatl, the winged serpent. Worried somewhat that he picked a Slytherin, he asked, "What house are you in?"

"Ravenclaw." She answered simply.

"Oh, what is your name?"

"My name is Courtney, but my friends call me Hawk."

Peck grinned.

"Well then, Hawk it is."

"So, what's your name?"

"Orlando Bloom."

The girl nodded and the two started dancing, rotating slowly with the song. After the first song was over, Phoenix was getting tired of Cindy giving him looks and fluttering her eyelashes.

"Meh, I'm gonna get a drink. Would you mind?"

"I'll go with you."

"Thanks, but I'd rather you not."

"But I love you Orlando!"

"Uh, no you don't."

"But-"

"No."

The girl stalked off, looking extremely hurt. Phoenix didn't care though, because now he wanted to dance with his actual date. Walking over to the table where his friends were (minus Peck: he was still dancing with Hawk). He noticed Ginny with her arms crossed, tapping her foot, and glaring at him. He could've sworn he saw steam rising from her ears.

"Why did you do that? You KNEW I'd get jealous and hurt!"

"Yeah, I sorta figured that out. That's why I dumped her. Care to dance?"

Whatever glare was on Ginny's face immediately evaporated.

"Much better. And yes, I would like to dance."

So Phoenix led Ginny onto the dance floor, held her hand and her waist, and the two started dancing to yet another slow rhythm. Meanwhile, Peck was still dancing with Hawk. He decided to prod what was most likely a dangerous subject.

Trying to sound as casual as he could, he asked, "So, what do you think of that Team Matrix group?"

That caused the girl to furrow her eyebrows and bite her lip. Peck waited nervously.

"Why do you ask?"

Whatever he was expecting, it wasn't that. Thinking quick, he responded, "I dunno, I was just curious."

'Smooth Peck. REAL smooth.' He thought, mentally slapping himself. Hawk, however, seemed to buy it.

'They're okay. I mean, I don't hate them at all, but the peer pressure is forcing me to ignore them. I would lose a BIG part of my reputation in Ravenclaw if I said that Team Matrix was cool. In truth, I find them funny, pulling off all of those pranks, especially on the Slytherins." She grinned.

'Wow, this is good news then. VERY good news.' Peck thoughts. He nodded and continued dancing with Hawk, liking her more and more every minute.

Phoenix was having a grand time with Ginny, who was still dressed as Trinity. After the waltz was over, a much faster paced song started up. The two, grinning followed along and started dancing like there was no tomorrow, doing twirls, flips, and spins. At one point, Phoenix actually spun Ginny into the air, then caught her when she came back down. Soon, most of the other dancers stopped and turned to watch the two. Peck noticed the circle that was forming and looked to see what was going on. He then noticed Phoenix and Ginny having the time of their lives. Grinning inwardly, he decided to let them have the limelight and not ruin the moment. Once the song was over, the circle clapped and broke to allow the two to pass. Peck met up with Phoenix and Ginny.

"Hey, that was pretty good, dude."

Phoenix grinned.

"Thanks, although Ginny has to get half of the credit."

"True, true. So, what're you two planning on doing next?"

"We're gonna go over to the tables and get a drink. You know, cool are heels and stuff."

Peck nodded.

"Sounds good to me. Listen, I have someone I want you to meet. This is Courtney, although she prefers to be called Hawk."

Phoenix resisted the temptation to narrow his eyes at her. He developed a dislike for any students who weren't his friends. However, he trusted Peck, so he smiled and held out his hand.

"Hey, how are you?"

The girl shrugged.

"I'm fine, I guess. What's your name?"

Phoenix froze, and then looked at Peck. His friend nodded, and Phoenix turned back to the girl.

"Phoenix."

The girl's crystal eyes widened.

"Seriously?"

"Seriously."

She then looked at Peck.

"Then that means..."

Peck nodded.

"Yup, I'm Peck."

The girls eyes got even wider and her mouth formed into the shape of an o.

"Wow. I had no idea..."

"No kiddin'. Listen, would you mind not telling anyone? I'd rather lay low."

She nodded.

"Okay. If you wish."

Phoenix sighed in relief.

"So, you think Team Matrix is pretty cool?"

"Definitely. As much as it is cool meeting you guys, I still have to pretend to dislike you."

"That's okay. At least we know that there is SOMEONE who doesn't hate Americans..."

"Actually, I was born in America, but my parents moved to London when I was two, so I call myself British, but I'm technically American."

At that point, Dumbledore stood up. The hall became quiet.

"Students! It is now eleven o' clock. Time for bed! Thank you for joining us and have a good night!"

He sat down and everyone started leaving the hall, including Team Matrix. Hawk met up with her friends and made her way towards the Ravenclaw common room. Peck started walking with Phoenix and Ginny to catch up with their friends. Ginny was chatting happily with Peck while Phoenix was lost in thought. He was having an internal struggle at the moment: should he kiss Ginny?

He weighed the possible outcomes. Would she smack me? Would she think it was a joke? Would she cry? Would she stare, and then run away? Worst of all, would she tell Ron, who might rip my arms off? Then again, she might like it.

He finally decided not to. Maybe some other time, but not today...


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7: The Calm Before the Storm

Weeks went by after Halloween. Phoenix and Peck continued working on their various projects, Phoenix the Fire Pill, and Peck Project WAR (A/N: If you don't remember that, it stands for "Wizarding Assault Rifle"). Peck was having problems with Project WAR. When he applied the techniques he and Phoenix did with the Stun Pistols and tried out the Assault Rifle, it would blow up. Several times he had to be whisked off to the hospital wing due to a burn injury or shrapnel from the explosion. He'd have to start from scratch.

Phoenix, on the other hand, was making good progress with his Fire Pill. Of course, it was far more complicated than the Wizarding Assault Rifle, so he had a long way to go, but at least he knew what direction to go in.

Soon, November turned to December. On one particular day, Phoenix and Peck could be found in the library, Peck doing a Transfiguration assignment due that day, and Phoenix looking up various spells in random books. Apparently, he came across one he particularly liked.

"Peck! Peck! C'mere! You gotta see this!"

The boy in question sighed, then got up, walking over to his friend.

"What is it? I have to finish this assignment, which is due in an hour."

"Take a look."

Peck then read what Phoenix was pointing to.

"The Colorus Charm allows the caster to mark a target, causing it to turn into various hues of the color the caster chooses to use. This effect can last for up to an hour unless the target is able to perform the appropriate counter-curse. So what's so cool about this Phoenix?"

The boy looked at Peck like he was mad.

"Are you CRAZY Peck? This spell opens up so many doors for us! We can even use it to play- dare I say it?- LASER TAG!"

"Phoenix, we need vests and laser guns for Laser Tag."

"Peck, if we use this, we don't NEED vests and we can use our STUN GUNS loaded with this spell!"

Peck just stared at Phoenix.

"Did I ever tell you I was a genius?"

Phoenix grinned.

"No, but I already knew I was, so you didn't need to."

"Well, I have to finish this Transfiguration homework. You work on how to perform the spell, and we'll play Laser Tag later."

Phoenix nodded his head vigorously, took the book, and ran off to the Gryffindor Common Room. He grabbed Thor's Shield, propped it up against his bed, and looked in the book, figuring out how to perform the Colorus Charm.

"LET'S GET THIS PARTY STARTED!"

After Transfiguration, Team Matrix decided to take a walk in the snow. Phoenix perked up.

"Hey guys? Can I quickly get something from the GCR? I'll be RIGHT with you!"

His friends sighed a bit, then nodded. Phoenix grinned and bolted for the Gryffindor Tower. He entered to portrait ("Lion-hearted!"), bolted up to his dormitory, and grabbed the two Stun Pistols he loaded with Colorus Cells. Racing back out of the Common Room, he broke off into a run. However, instead of racing towards the front doors, he raced towards the Astronomy Tower. Praying to god that there wasn't a couple snogging in the tower, he burst in, took out his pistols, and ran over to the edge. He looked out onto the grounds for any signs if his friends. There! He saw a group of eight kids wearing red-lined robes. Smirking to himself, he aimed his pistols at the group.

"OPEN FIRE!"

He then started taking shots at the group, firing slower at first to caliber his shots, then firing in rapid succession. Blue and red streaks zipped at the gaggle of now confused kids. Before long, however, his 20 shot cells were spent, but by that time, six of the targets were colored.

"PHOENIX! I AM GOING TO KILL YOU SLOWLY AND PAINFULLY! YOU SCARED THE LIVING CRAP OUTTA ME!" That voice was easily recognizable as Peck.

"WELL, IS IT MY FAULT THAT YOU HAVEN'T LEARNED MY ANTICS AFTER FIVE YEARS OF GOING TO SCHOOL WITH ME?"

"YES!"

"WELL THAT'S TOO BAD FOR YOU THEN!"

Phoenix holstered one pistol and gripped the other. He then raced for the front doors. Upon reaching them and running out, he found a red Ginny, blue Harry, red Ron, blue Seamus, red Neville, and a blue Peck.

Phoenix smirked.

"Interesting that I colored the two Weasleys red, isn't it?"

But Peck wasn't paying attention to his words. If looks could kill, Phoenix would be six feet under, have a gravestone and some nice pretty flowers on top of it.

"Uh, Peck? You okay?"

"How. The. Bloody. Hell. Do. You. Perform. The. Counter. Curse?"

"Easy, like this."

Phoenix waved his wand at Peck, and the boy was back to his normal color.

"Anybody else?"

"YES!"

"Okay! Okay! No need to get testy!"

Before long, his friends were back to their normal color... but still extremely pissed.

"Phoenix? Ever wonder what hell is like?"

"Once or twice. Why do you ask Gin?"

"Hell's gonna look like a kitten by the time I'm done with you!"

She then charged at him, and tackled him into the snow. It was then that he recovered from the shock, and kicked into action. He flipped Ginny off of him and started pelting her with snowballs. Running out of ammo, he then dove at her and became relentless with his tickling.

"Ack! No! That TICKLES!"

"No duh."

"Stop! STOP!" Even though she was screaming for him to stop, she was laughing uncontrollably.

"Why should I- oomph!"

Peck had tackled Phoenix while he was focusing on Ginny. Soon, the two boys were rolling in the snow, trying to stuff the white powder in down each other's back. Eventually though, they broke away from each other, panting. Phoenix grabbed some snow, packed it into a ball, and let it fly at Peck. However, Peck was too fast for the ball and it ended up hitting Ron in the face. He growled.

"That does it. SNOWBALL FIGHT!"

Everyone, save Phoenix, dropped to the ground and started making snowballs. Phoenix laughed.

"You guys are idiots."

He flicked his wand and 8 snowballs started packing themselves. When they finished, he flicked his wand again and the snowballs levitated and rushed at his friends.

SMACK!

8 homing snowballs hit their targets. Once the said targets wiped the said snowballs off their faces, the said targets glared at Phoenix. Harry was the first to speak.

"Phoenix?"

"Yes Harry?"

"You are going to die."

"Oh, am I?"

"Yes."

"I'd like to see you try."

Harry charged at Phoenix, leaping at him and knocking him flat on his back. He then grabbed a huge mass of snow and turned to drop it on Phoenix, but the boy wasn't there anymore.

"Hey, where'd he go?"

"Looking for me?"

Harry looked up, only to find snow shower down upon him and freezing ice sting his face. Phoenix laughed.

"Silly head! Do you HONESTLY think I wasn't expecting something like that?"

Harry paused for a moment.

"Uh..."

"Thought so. So, who's up for a round of Laser Tag?"

Most of his friends gave him blank stares.

"You've NEVER heard of Laser Tag?"

"Er, no."

Phoenix brightened up.

"Well then, aren't we gonna have a ball!"

Before the group was able to start a game of Laser Tag, they had to make more Color Magazines (That's what Phoenix called them) and sort themselves into teams. Naturally, Ron, Ginny, and Phoenix were on the red team. Neville decided to join them while Peck, Harry, Hermione, Seamus, and Dean were left for the blue team. Ginny was slightly unnerved by this.

"Shouldn't one person sit out?'

Phoenix shook his head.

"Nah, we can still kick their butt even though we're down a person. But right now, we have to focus on loading those magazines!"

"Um, Phoenix?"

"Yeah Hermione?"

"We only have one Thor's Shield..."

Phoenix laughed.

"No we don't! Do you honestly think I'm dumb enough to depend solely on that shield for magazine production?"

"I guess not..."

"Of course I'm not! Now, I may have an IQ of 2, but I'm still smart enough to know THAT. I made one for each of you!"

Ginny and Hermione both gasped.

"Really?"

"No, I only made shields for the boys. OF COURSE I DID!"

Peck laughed.

"Well then, I suppose we should figure out how to perform the spell then?"

Phoenix nodded.

"Yes, yes of course."

So he spent about five minutes showing his friends how to perform the spell. Once every one was able to turn a cup red, then blue, he clapped his hands.

"Excellent job guys!"

"And girls."

"Right. Accio Shields!"

Nine shields came rushing out of the sixth year boys' dormitories and hovered in front of Phoenix.

"Catch."

He then started tossing the shields to his friends and instructed them to prop up the shields.

"Alright, I have plenty o' empty cells, so if you're maxed out, tell me."

"Or we could just summon one ourselves."

"A very good point Ginny. Do that. Now, LET'S GET LOADING!"

Soon, everyone was firing Colorus spells at their shields, summoning new cells when their current one was maxed out, and stashing away their loaded ones for future use.

Unfortunately, Lunch ended before they could start a game, so they had to wait for classes to end before they could play. Once they finished Double Potions (GROAN), the nine friends raced out of the dungeons and towards the Gryffindor Tower. Once they collected their Stun Guns and extra magazines, they ran back out of the tower and towards the grounds. Once they were all gathered, Phoenix spoke.

"Alright! Listen up people! When I say 'Go', both teams have exactly TWO MINUTES to get into their positions before firing may commence! Anyone who fires before two minutes will be penalized and will have to sit out for the rest of the game, I will give a shout when the two minutes have passed. Ready?"

"Yes!"

"Set?"

"YES!"

"GO! GO! GO!"

Phoenix started a mechanical stopwatch and ran with the rest of his team in the opposite direction of their opponents. They made their way to a patch of trees and looked at Phoenix.

"What? Am I the unspoken Captain?"

"Yes."

Phoenix grinned.

"Well then, we should make this patch of trees our base, should we not?"

Ron nodded.

"If you think it would be a good idea."

"Oh it is a good idea, trust me. Now, we'll have an attack force and a defense force. The A.F. will move out and be proactive while D.F. will wait here for any opponents who draw too close. Also, we should take advantage of the snow. Ron, Ginny. Start making walls. With your wands." He added when he noticed them dropping down to their knees.

"Alright, Neville and myself will be the A.F. while Ron and Ginny will by the D.F."

His comrades nodded. Once he was done with his speech, he and Neville started to help Ginny and Ron with the walls and defenses. Phoenix decided to have Ron and Ginny positioned in the trees, so he sent some snow up there and performed a charm that prevented it from falling out. Before they were done with preparations, however, Phoenix's stopwatch reached the two-minute mark. He turned to his friends.

"Alright, soldiers, if we don't win, we'll die trying. Sonorus." He pointed his wand at his throat, amplifying his voice.

"ALRIGHT! TWO MINUTES HAVE PASSED! IF YE SCURVY SCALLEWAGS AREN'T DONE WITH YOUR BATTLE PLANS, TOO BAD FOR YOU!"

He then muttered another charm, which changed his voice back to normal.

"Alright Neville, we're going in! Ron? Gin? Get in the trees and keep an eye out for those blue soldiers!"

The two saluted him with an "Aye aye Captain!" and made their way towards the trees. Once they were in position, Phoenix turned to Neville.

"You ready for this?"

Neville nodded.

"Alright boy, let's see what ya got! We'll stick to the trees, not going deep of course, and use them as cover in the event that we come across Peck and his group. I think they might have asked Hagrid for cover in his hut."

Neville nodded again, gripped his S.G., and followed Phoenix through the trees, making their way around the castle and towards the other side, where Hagrid's Hut was located. When they were about halfway there, they saw Seamus and Dean slinking around the corner of the castle.

"Probably scouts. Peck, Harry, and Hermione are probably holed up in the Hut just as we have Ginny and Ron in the trees. Shall we pick 'em off?"

"Sir yes sir!"

"Good. Get down and take pot shots at them. At first, fire slowly to caliber your aim, then let 'em have it!"

His comrade nodded and dropped to the ground, Phoenix opting to go down on one knee.

"Ready? Open fire!" He didn't say it loud enough for the two to hear, so they were oblivious to the attack. That is, until they noticed red bolts exploding around them.

"Crap! Run for it Dean!"

The two started running and made it to safety, but not before Seamus was hit by one of the red spells, causing him to turn red.

"Damn, I'm out. Keep going Dean, I have a funny feeling that if you go back, you'll be picked off."

Seamus then made his way over to a bench and put down his Stun Gun, waiting for the match to finish.

While this was going on, Phoenix high-fived Neville.

"Nice shooting dude!"

Neville grinned.

"Thanks. Shall we continue?"

"Of course Lieutenant."

The two grinned at each other and continued making their way towards Hagrid's Hut, staying under the cover of the trees. Before they made it to their destination, they heard a cry of frustration from behind them.

'Must be Dean.' Phoenix thought.

Once it was in sight, Neville turned to look at Phoenix.

"Phoenix? How are we gonna get 'em out of their foxhole?"

"I thought of that. Do you think they're gonna keep their heads inside all the time? Nah, one of them will poke his or her head out of a window once in a while. Look!"

As if on cue, Hermione's head peeked over the windowsill, scanning for any signs of opposition.

"Hide!"

The two ducked behind some trees and waited for a few seconds before looking out from their hiding spaces.

"She went back down again. Alright, keep your gun trained on the window. When Hermione or one of the boys pop out to look again, fire at will."

Neville nodded and did just what Phoenix said, lining up his sight with the center of the opening. Several minutes went by and Neville still had his firearm trained, but no one was taking a look. Phoenix sighed.

"I'll give 'em a scare. Be ready for some resistance Neville."

He raised his gun and fired at the window, sending the bolt sailing through the open window. Almost immediately, Harry's head popped out to see what was going on. Neville and Phoenix fired several rounds at him, several of which hitting their mark and turning Harry red.

"DAMMIT! I'M HIT!"

"No duh Harry!"

The two boys grinned at each other. Neville then furrowed his eyebrows.

"Do you suppose we should lure Peck and Hermione over to our base?"

Phoenix shrugged.

"Sure. Start running Neville, I'll do the luring. HEY DUMB BUTTS! YA WANNA GET REVENGE? WELL, YOU'LL HAVE TO CATCH US FIRST! HA HA!"

He then started running, using the trees as cover but "accidentally" running out of them at times so his pursuers wouldn't lose sight of him. Neville was far ahead, running as fast as his legs could carry him. Phoenix dared to peek behind him and saw the two opponents running towards him... and gaining.

"Crap! RUN NEVILLE!"

The two started weaving through the trees, attempting to lose their followers. Phoenix moved even faster when a blue bolt exploded into a tree next to him. The snow fort was in sight. Running faster than before, he ran up to the wall. Jumped over them, and turned around to fire at the attackers, using the wall as cover. Ginny and Ron were doing the same. Unfortunately, not everyone on the red team was safe. Neville walked out of the trees glowing blue.

"Ah well. Don't let me down guys!"

He then sat down under a tree to watch the battle. When Hermione and Peck saw red spells flying at them, they immediately ran behind the trees for cover. Phoenix used this time to give his teammates advice.

"Don't be careless guys: we have the advantage. The opposition is outgunned and we have better defenses. You two focus on Hermione. I'll get Peck."

The two didn't respond but Phoenix was sure they had heard them. Keeping his gun trained on the tree Peck was hiding behind, he waited. After about a minute without Peck coming out, he decided to taunt him.

"Peck ol' buddy! Why don't you come out? Scared you'll get slaughtered by me and my comrades? I don't blame you."

"It's my comrades and me you idiot!"

Peck jumped out and started running in a zigzag pattern towards the wall where Phoenix was, firing all the while. Hermione was doing the same thing. Apparently, the two had been making plans for a counterstrike.

"OPEN FIRE!"

Red bolts streaked past blue ones as both sides desperately attempted to hit the opposition. Phoenix was firing like a madman, although his aim was being thrown off because he had to avoid Peck's shots.

"Damn! I'm out of shots!"

He ducked down and scrambled to reload his S.G. with a fresh magazine. That cost him a good 30 seconds. When he peeked back up, Peck had hidden behind a much closer tree than before. Twirling his gun in his hand, he looked around for any sign of Hermione. Following her footprints, he concluded that she had successfully hidden behind a tree as well. Turning his attention back to Peck's tree, he took out another spare magazine in the event that his current one ran out before he hit his target.

"Alright guys, reload your S.G.s with fresh magazines. You never know when you'll run out with your current one."

He heard scuffling from above as his friends took out new cells and replaced their old ones with them.

"Good work. Now, all we have to do is wait..."

Several more minutes passed, and the opposition still hadn't shown their faces.

"Scared Peck?"

"You wish!"

"Well then, why don't you come out?"

"Do you think I'm an idiot? I don't have an IQ of 2 you know..."

"If you say so, why don't you use your brain cell to think up a plan?"

"I have multiple brain cells thank-you-very-much."

"Prove it... Single Cell."

"I already have."

A blue streak shot at Phoenix, who dodged it just in time.

"Whoa!"

Phoenix, judging the angle which the bolt came from, realized that Peck had scaled the tree while the two were chatting.

"Ginny! Ron! Peck is in a tree! I'm assuming that Hermione has done the same."

"Damn straight."

Another bolt was shot, this time from Hermione's tree, this one was directed at Ron, however, and it found its mark.

"Noooooo!"

"Yes."

"FIRE AT WILL GIN!"

Red bolts streaked at both Peck and Hermione's trees, exploding around the clever attackers. Soon enough, Hermione was hit.

"It's all up to you Peck. Scared now?"

"Not in the slightest."

"Get down Gin. If I need your assistance, I'll ask for it."

"Gotcha."

Phoenix fired off the remaining bolts in his current magazine, then put in a fresh one. Snapping it into place, he aimed it at Peck's tree, laying waste to the hideout, hoping at least one shot would hit Peck. He decided to move to a different vantage point, thinking that it would give him a better shot at hitting the remaining blue opponent. After about five more shots, Phoenix's current magazine was out. He loaded a fresh one into his gun and continued firing at Peck until...

"Yes!"

"Damn."

Peck was hit. Climbing out of the tree, he walked over to Phoenix, shook his hand, and spoke.

"Good game dude. Now, would you kindly remove the spell? You never showed us the counter curse."

"Oh, right."

Phoenix waved his wand and Peck was back to normal.

"Alright, anyone who was hit, please come over here so I can remove the charm."

Seamus, Dean, Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Neville walked over to Phoenix and were soon back to their normal color. Seamus sighed.

"Ah, it's good to be back to normal."

Winter turned into spring and things were going good at Hogwarts. Phoenix and Peck were putting some finishing touches on their projects. Peck was finally able to get a non-volatile WAR completed and had finished testing it. He was now making more for his friends. Phoenix's Fire Pill was coming along nicely. Currently, the user can come into contact with fire and not get burned, but he still hadn't figured out how to allow the user to manipulate it.

The students were still ignoring Phoenix and Peck, Gryffindor was still acting cold towards Team Matrix, and Snape was being the bloody git he always was. All of this would change soon, during one pleasant afternoon in April...

Team Matrix was outside, playing with their WARs. All of Team Matrix except for Phoenix, that is. He was outside with his friends, but with a book on elemental magic and several Fire Pills. After about an hour, he jumped up and shouted.

"I'VE GOT IT!"

Taking his current pill, he duplicated it and ingested the duplicate. Once he swallowed it, he glowed red for a moment, then was back to his normal color. Holding out his hand and focusing, he grinned when some fire appeared in his palm.

"I've done it! YEEHA!"

His friends stared at him. Peck was the first to speak.

"Niiiiiice."

Phoenix eyed the WARs with interest.

"Toss me one o' those, will ya Peck?"

"No problem. I've redesigned the Stun Cells for these babies. They fit 50 shots in one magazine."

"Sweet."

"By the way, it's not fully automatic. You'll have to pull the trigger each time you want to fire a shot."

"Nuts."

Peck tossed his friend one of the guns and Phoenix took the WAR and pointed it at a tree. When he pulled the trigger, nothing happened.

"Uh, Phoenix? You might want a cell..."

Peck tossed him a cell. Phoenix took it, glared at Peck, and jammed it into the port. Again he aimed the gun at the tree. Pulling the trigger, his arms were rocked backwards by the force of the weapon. Phoenix looked at Peck with a quirked eyebrow.

"Oh, that. I've created a spell enhancer and added it to the barrel. Your average shielding charm won't be able to block this."

"Right."

Harry checked his watch (Peck had given him a new one for Christmas) and looked up.

"It's getting close to dinner, let's go in."

His friends nodded, holstering their Stun Pistols, slinging their WARs over their chests, and hanging their Thor's Shields over their back. They trudged inside towards the Great Hall. They noticed that Dumbledore was missing from the staff table ("I was told that the Minister of Magic wanted an audience with him"). Sitting down at the Gryffindor table, they looked at the food. Peck sighed.

"I admit it nice to have a sort of calm, or lull, but I wish something interesting would happen."

It was as if the devil had answered his request and not god, for at that moment, the doors to the Great Hall burst open and all hell broke loose.

A/N: sighs lame cliffie, ain't it? Yeah, well, read the next chapter if you want to...


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8: Sieged!

Every head in the Great Hall snapped to the large oak doors that had just recently been blasted open. There in the doorway was a large contingent of hooded figures.

Did I just say large? That must be the understatement of the century, for this contingency was ENORMOUS. It would be safe to bet that everyone under ol' Voldie's control was here to lay siege to the castle.

Of course, they had expected resistance (Do you honestly think it was a coincidence that Dumbledore was absent when they attacked?), so they had shielding charms. However, what they DIDN'T expect was nine semi-automatic assault rifles armed with enhanced stun spells.

"OPEN FIRE!"

Glowing neon red bolts streaked towards the unwanted guests, penetrating the shields and causing the first line to fall down. By that time the staff was on their feet, slinging various spells and curses at the Death Eaters. Flitwick, although small, was the charms teacher for a reason. The midget teacher was launching slowing charms, tripping charms, barrier charms, explosive charms... you name it, he cast it.

Team Matrix was on their feet, Thor's Shields in one hand and WARs in the other.

"LET'S MOVE! GCR!"

They started moving backwards, launching red streaks at the attackers. The attackers, on the other hand, were sending silver streaks at the students, which exploded on contact. Others still were sending dark red streaks, which burst into flames, causing students to run around on fire, screaming.

The Gryffindors were valiantly fighting back, even those who were in their first year, sending whatever curses they knew at the Death Eaters. For some "bizarre" reason, the Slytherins were doing nothing at all.

Eventually, Team Matrix made it to the marble stairs. Phoenix turned to his group.

"Alright, I want several of us down here to help the teachers. Who's gonna volunteer?"

Neville, Seamus, and Dean raised their hands.

"Okay, here are your objectives: 1) rendezvous with the teachers and ask for orders. 2) protect the students and give them cover fire to escape. 3) Kick some butth."

The three volunteers smirked at the last objective.

"The rest of you will go with me to the Gryffindor Common Room. I have several, ahem, surprises in my dormitory that can help us. Specifically, stun grenades. Peck, Hermione, Ron, Ginny, and Harry. I need you to create a Grenade Launcher ASAP, complete with a spell enhancer. Peck, that's your job. While you guys are working on that, I'm goin' to the roof."

Ginny looked surprised.

"What for?"

"Let's say that I have some 'rappelling' to do."

Peck smirked at that.

"Alright, what are we waiting for? LET'S MOVE!"

Neville, Seamus, and Dean raced back into the Great Hall, armed with their WARs. They had about 10 extra magazines each, which totaled up to 1500 enhanced stun spells. The rest of Team Matrix ran like madmen towards the Gryffindor Common Room. Upon reaching the portrait, they stopped.

"Alright, Miss. We have a problem: Hogwarts is under attack. Don't worry, the students and teachers are fighting back and we are going inside to get some equipment. I have a job for you. Under NO circumstances will you let anyone with a hooded black cloak enter. They are Death Eaters. That's a given though. Clear?"

"Why of course."

"If it helps, once we enter, leave the portrait and visit some of your friends. That way, there is no chance of those creeps to get in. Scourge of all cowardice."

The portrait swung open and Phoenix's friends ran in, immediately getting to work.

"Alright, I need a cylindrical tube about a yard and a half in length."

"You got it Peck."

Hermione transfigured a fire stoker into the requested item and handed it to Peck.

"Alright, Hermione will supply raw materials, Harry will work on welding the parts together with my help, Ginny will work on a targeting system, Ron will work on a feeding system, and I will work on the enhancer and general supervision."

Phoenix raced upstairs, grabbed his Stun Grenades and JLC4s, and raced back down.

"Alright, here are the grenades. Duplicate them: we'll probably need a lot more than I have. I brought down the JLC4s if any of you thought of a use for them, like a trap or something. Peck? Can I have your WAR?"

"You got it."

"I'll also need as many spare magazines as I can carry."

Once the second WAR was slung over his shoulder, he was bombarded with fully loaded cells. Securing as many as he could, he turned to Hermione.

"Hermione, could you get me a lot of really strong rope, grappling hooks, and a rappelling vest?"

"Ask and ye shall receive."

She flicked her wand and out of thin air came the requested items. Phoenix goggled at her.

"Isn't that 7th year work?"

She grinned.

"Yup."

Phoenix continued to stare at the items. Snapping out of it, he grabbed them, put on the vest, slung the rope over his shoulder (the grappling hooks were attached to it), grabbed several grenades for good measure, and ran out of the common room, pausing only to give some final words to the fat lady.

"Alright, remember: go visit some of your friends."

She nodded and hurried out of her portrait. Phoenix turned around and continued towards the stairs. Upon reaching them, he started to run upwards, making his way towards the highest tower. When he got there. He peered over the edge and goggled yet again. Practically the ENTIRE front grounds was filled with Death Eaters.

"Can we say crap? Crap. Well, at least I have these grenades..."

Taking a grenade from his belt, he pulled the pin and chucked it down at the swarming Death Eaters. Several seconds later, there was an explosion, knocking back about 15 of them. Grinning to himself, Phoenix took another grenade from his belt, pulled the pin, and chucked it down. Again, an explosion rocked the contingency, taking out about 15 more Death Eaters. Checking his belt, Phoenix saw he had two more.

'I'll save 'em for later.' He thought.

Gripping his pair of WARs, he leaned over the edge and brought hell upon the Death Eaters, leaning his weapons on the edge for stability.

"An eye for an eye." He muttered.

He continued to send red bolts at the cloaked figures. That is, until they realized they were being attacked from above. The Death Eaters near the back of the group raised their wands, pointed them at Phoenix, and fired silver bolts at him. He flipped away from the wall, only to see it explode with tremendous force.

"DIE YOU STINKIN' PIECES O' CRAP!"

Lying on his stomach, he peered over the edge and continued sending spells at the attacking Death Eaters, particularly the ones firing spells at him. Unfortunately for him, however, it appeared that for every Death Eater he took down, another one stepped into his place.

"Now I know how the Germans felt on D-day..." He muttered.

Another round of volatile spells forced him to fall back. Grabbing the grappling hooks and securing them around several pillars, he spoke to himself with an inward grin.

"Time for some of the rappelling I was talking about."

Securing the other end of the ropes to his vest via clips, he stepped onto the edge of the tower, jumped off, and started a free fall... upside down. Of course, he jumped at an angle so he wouldn't be jerked off the rope when it came to an end. What happened was he started swinging in an arc towards the castle walls. Once he had landed on the wall, he started running, firing all the while. Of course, this was more inaccurate than holding the WARs against the edge, as the Assault Rifles were quite heavy, but it was the best he could do. Spells zipped by him, blowing out chunks of the wall, but missing the rope and himself. He continued firing his weapons until he was out of ammo. Using his momentum to swing back onto the top of the wall, he ducked behind it to reload his guns.

While Phoenix was having a grand time with his gymnastics and rope-running, Peck and his group was working like crazy on the grenade launcher.

"Gin, how's the targeting system coming?"

"Good. It isn't very hard making a crosshair. The hard part is making it accurate."

"Great. Hermione, I'm gonna need a support handle for Harry to weld on."

"Done."

She tossed Harry the handle, who immediately started sealing it onto the tube.

Peck was doing great. His main focus was how to launch the grenade, but he pretty much had that down. All he and his team needed now was more time.

Seamus, Neville, and Dean were having problems in the Great Hall. The Death Eaters were reverting to nastier curses, the Cruciatus included. The first thing the three fighters did was make their way over to McGonagall, who told them to help evacuate the students. Starting with the Gryffindor first years, they did just that, providing covering fire while they made their way to the marble staircase and to their common room. Several times during the ordeal, students were injured by an explosion, and one of the three would carry him or her off to the infirmary. On Dean's first visit there, he gave Madam Pomfrey his Stun Pistol for protection.

Their next group of students who were to be evacuated was the Ravenclaws. Once again starting with the first years, they helped them make their way over to the marble staircase, shooting down any pursuing Death Eaters. However, a well-aimed shot hit in the midst of them, sending the poor first years flying, severely injured but not dead. Seamus and Dean picked up two students each, had Neville stand guard over the rest, and raced towards the infirmary. Upon reaching it, Madam Pomfrey came out to examine the damage.

"Oh dear."

"An explosive spell landed right in the midst of the retreating Ravenclaw first years. There are about five left."

"Well then, put these down on beds and bring in the rest! I'll probably need some makeshift beds for all of these students."

The two nodded and raced out of the infirmary, heading back towards the carnage.

Phoenix had finished reloading his WARs, checked strength of the ropes, and jumped off the ledge again, laying waste to the converging Death Eaters.

"DEATH TO YE EATERS O' DEATH!"

Phoenix was pissed. Oh yes, VERY pissed. He fired off his red bolts like there was no tomorrow, most of them hitting targets. There must have been at least two thousand Death Eaters out there.

'Who knew so many wizards and witched could become corrupt...'

Peck's group was almost done with the grenade launcher, just a few more minutes and-

"YES! WE ARE FINISHED! GRAB THE STUN GRENADES AND LET'S GET OUTTA HERE!"

Grabbing the Grenade Launcher, Peck ran outside, his grenade-totting and JLC4-totting friends in tow. Rushing towards the Great Hall, they saw Seamus, Dean, and Neville carrying several Ravenclaw first years towards the infirmary.

"The cavalry has arrived boys!"

"Yes! Go go go!"

"Here, take these! Here's the remote!"

Harry tossed several JLC4s and their remote to Neville, who was carrying only one student.

They continued racing towards the Great Hall. Upon reaching it, what they saw was utter carnage. Students and Death Eaters alike were lying on the ground, some moving and some not. That angered Peck. That REALLY angered Peck.

"Alright team, I need a grenade!"

"You got one."

Arming the launcher, Peck aimed into the midst of the Death Eaters and pulled the trigger. A bang was heard as the armed, enhanced grenade was hurtled towards the attacking Death Eaters. Several seconds later, an explosion rocked the hall as at least 25 cloaked figures were thrown to the ground.

"I need another grenade!"

"Coming right up!"

Peck continued firing the grenades at the Death Eaters, their counterstrikes egging him on.

When Seamus, Dean and Neville had seen Peck & Co. running by, they paused for a moment.

"Now that we have artillery, I think one of us should stay with Pomfrey to help her and defend the injured... if it comes to that."

Neville nodded.

"I'll do that. Now let's continue moving!"

Realizing they were carrying students that needed serious medical attention, they continued running towards the infirmary. Once they finished laying down the unconscious students, they turned to the nurse.

"That's the last of the Ravenclaw first years. We have an offer for you. Several of our friends are back in the field with a grenade launcher. We were thinking that if we had that kind of firepower, we could spare a person to hang around here to help you and defend the students if the Death Eaters get this far."

She nodded.

"That would be most appreciated. So who's going to help me?"

"I am."

"Very well Neville. I want you to assure several of these students that they will be okay and try to seal up any minor cuts and injuries."

He nodded and ran off towards the students.

Seamus and Dean bade farewell to Madam Pomfrey and ran back out to continue evacuating the students.

Soon enough, before Phoenix could pick off as many Death Eaters as he would like, all of the cloaked figures made it inside the castle. Running back up to the ledge, he repositioned his rope so it was hanging directly above the doors, and loaded his WARs with fresh magazines. Sliding down slowly on the rope, he paused when he was right above top of the doors. Looping one of his feet around the rope, he let his body hang down the rest of the way so he could see into the hall, upside down of course. When he was in position, he continued firing at the Death Eaters from behind. However, things weren't going as well as he had hoped. The Death Eaters were pushing the teachers and students back. His attention was drawn to a loud bang, then an explosion that sent several Death Eaters flying.

'Peck's back in the field then.' He thought to himself, smirking.

Sliding down a little more, he continued firing at the Death Eaters, trying to make every shot count.

Peck and his group was having trouble. They, the students, and the teachers were being forced to fall back due to the savage force of the Death Eaters.

"I NEED MORE GRENADES!"

"They're coming as fast as they can!"

BANG!

KABOOM!

"ANOTHER ONE!"

"It's in!"

BANG!

KABOOM!

"FALL BACK! FALL BACK!"

At that point, Seamus and Dean came leaping into the Great Hall.

"You two! You need to evacuate the students faster!"

"Need some help?"

Peck whipped his head around to find Hawk looking at him. Her face had several black smudges on it, she was sporting several cuts and bruises, and she was panting.

Peck nodded.

"Sure."

Tossing her his Stun Pistol and several spare magazines, he gave her some instructions and advice.

"Help Seamus and Dean evacuate the students. That pistol can fire 20 shots per magazine, so make sure your shots count. Seamus and Dean have more powerful guns than you, but that's all I have: I gave my WAR to Phoenix."

"WAR?"

"Wizarding Assault Rifle, now hurry!"

She nodded and ran over to Seamus and Dean.

"What can I do?"

"Give us some covering fire. Here, take a second Pistol."

"Alright."

She started firing off rounds at the Death Eaters while Seamus and Dean fired as well, making their way towards some students holed up behind an overturned table.

"Okay kids, let's go! Hawk! We need more covering fire!"

"Gotcha."

Once again, red streaks zipped at the Death Eaters. It was then that she noticed a figure hanging upside-down at the front doors. He was firing at the Death Eaters from behind. Once the students were evacuated from the hall, there were none left, save Slytherins, who were just watching as if it was a Quidditch match instead of a deadly battle. Peck, noticing this, fired a grenade at the table, then was forced to fall back with his comrades.

Phoenix, seeing the Death Eaters advancing forward, continued dropping down until he reached the ground. Righting himself, he hid behind one of the doors, popping out to fire several rounds at the Death Eaters. There was still about five hundred left. Only ¼ of how many they started with, but still a formidable force nonetheless.

Making a mad dash inside the hall, he ran over to a table and continued firing upon the Death Eaters, his hits became scarcer now that there were fewer Death Eaters. It appeared that the teachers and the fighting students had fallen back some more, for the Death Eaters continued to advance, seemingly unaware of Phoenix.

When he thought that enough students were comforted, Neville grabbed his JLC4s and ran outside, planting them in hidden positions around the entrance to the infirmary. When he had hidden all of his charges, he ran back inside and continued attempting to help Madam Pomfrey.

Peck & Co. were being forced to fall back to a different corridor, where they could have a wall for protection. Unfortunately, when he peeked around the corner, they Death Eaters were nowhere in sight.

"Where'd they go?"

"Oh dear. They must've scattered themselves throughout the castle in search of the dormitories, where they suspect the students have gone." Said Professor McGonagall. At that moment, Phoenix came running up to them. He had heard the Professor's remark.

"You got it. I saw several of the jerks running up the marble staircase. Do you think they know where the common rooms are?"

Mcgonagall shook her head.

"I'm assuming all of them came from Slytherin, which is most likely a correct assumption."

Phoenix nodded.

"Alright, it looks like we need to split up again. Peck and I will head towards the Gryffindor Common Room with Professor Mcgonnagall. Professor Sprout? Seamus, Dean, and Ginny will accompany you to the Hufflepuff Common Room, since I'm assuming that's where you will be going..."

"Of course."

"Alright, professor Vector (A/N: let's say that he's the head of Ravenclaw)? Ron, Harry, and Hermione will be going with you."

Phoenix heard someone clearing her voice. He turned around to see Hawk there.

"What about me?"

"Go with Professor Vector. You ARE a Ravenclaw after all..."

Hawk nodded, then walked over to her "group". Phoenix looked at everyone.

"As for the rest of the teachers, you go wherever you think they may have gone."

They nodded. Phoenix laughed a bit.

"I don't know why you are actually listening to me. I'm a student, so I'm supposed to be listening to you, right?"

Mcgonagall shrugged.

"You seem to know what you're doing, so we're going to trust your judgement."

Phoenix nodded.

"Alright, the more we stand around here, the more time we're giving the Death Eaters to wreak havoc. Let's go!"

They split up into their respective groups. Phoenix tossed his second WAR to Peck.

"You might want this back..."

"Yeah. That would be nice."

They ran with Mcgonagall towards the Gryffindor Common Room, being careful to look around each corner for groups of Death Eaters before they ran into view. They rounded the corner leading to the corridor containing the Fat Lady and saw a lone Death Eater standing in front of an open portrait, arms crossed. Phoenix and Peck cocked their guns.

"He's ours."

They unleashed a hailstorm of red bolts upon the Death Eater, who did several flips to easily avoid the barrage. The raised their eyebrows.

"Alright, he's gonna be tough. Professor? We'll give you covering fire to get into the common room. We'll handle him. COVERING FIRE!"

They continued to fire upon the Death Eater, causing him to move farther and farther away from the portrait. Soon enough, they were right in front of the portrait, allowing Mcgonagall to enter. After she did so, they shut the portrait. They then reloaded their WARs and cocked them. Pointing them at the Death Eater, Peck asked the question that was on both of their minds.

"Who are you?"

Phoenix could've sworn that if he saw the face, he would've seen a smirk.

"Oh, I'm shocked you don't know who I am."

Phoenix stepped back as if he'd been smacked in the face. It was him? No, it couldn't be. Not here!

"Paul?"

Phoenix practically felt the smirk radiating from the Death Eater. Lowering his hood, Phoenix saw the facial features of his arch nemesis at White's Academy.

"Long time no see." He drawled.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9: Showdown

Paul grinned as he slowly walked towards Phoenix and Peck, who were slowly walking backwards.

"I've missed you two. So much, that I've decided to join the Dark Lord in his plan to siege Hogwarts, since I knew you were moved here."

Phoenix glared at him.

"Paul?"

"Yes?"

"Go to hell."

Paul put a hand to his heart.

"Oh, I'm hurt Phoenix. I really am. How could you say such a thing?"

"ATAQUE!"

Paul's confident expression quickly turned into one of confusion. Phoenix and Peck had learned several terms in Spanish so they could give each other commands without their opposition knowing.

Quick as a flash, Phoenix and Peck started firing upon Paul, who was doing his best just to barely avoid the red streaks. Unfortunately, the 50 round limit came before they were able to hit Paul.

"Dammit."

Paul smirked.

"Aww... is wittle bitty Peck sad dat his gun wasn't able to hit big bully Paul?"

"No... Really?"

Paul grinned.

"Well, wanna see if I can hit wittle bitty Peck?"

It was Peck's turn to grin.

"I'd like to see you try."

"Imperio!"

The curse, however, was aimed at Phoenix, who took it full in the chest. His eyes clouded over and he turned on Peck. Taking out his wand, he pointed it at his friend of 7 years.

"Uh... Phoenix? Are you alright?"

"CRUCIO!"

Crackling yellow streaks streamed out of Phoenix's wand and shot at Peck.

"HOLY CRAP!"

Peck dropped to the ground, feeling the hairs on his neck get singed. Rolling away, he got up again, wand out.

"Phoenix! No! I'm your FRIEND! Remember?"

Phoenix shook his head. He pointed his wand at Peck again, but the boy was ready. He charged at his friend and did a low spin kick, sweeping Phoenix's feet out from under him, causing him to fall down. He then took out his wand.

"REDUCTO!"

He knew it was an explosive charm, but he was sure Phoenix would be alright. The boy was knocked backwards and thrown against the wall with a sickening CRUNCH. Peck winced. Apparently, however, it shook off the curse. Unfortunately, it rendered the boy basically immobile. Peck glared at Paul.

"What the hell was that?"

Paul grinned.

"You like it? It's called the Imperious Curse, which allows me to control the victim. In this case, it was your friend. I had him perform another curse called the Cruciatus Curse. Unfortunately, you dodged it, but if you hadn't, you would have felt unbearable pain rip through you. It would've been so bad, you would have wished you were dead."

Peck raised his eyebrows. This was NOT good. He HAD to stall Paul so Phoenix had time to recover.

"How'd you figure out the password?"

Paul grinned again.

"It was thanks to the ingenuity of moi. You see, A Slytherin had tipped us off that the Fat Lady was afraid of people slashing her. So I had positioned a Death Eater in front of the portraits flanking hers. I then threatened to destroy her painting if she didn't open for us. Being the weakling she was, she did so, allowing us access into your pathetically guarded common room."

Peck glared.

"How DARE you insult the Fat Lady..."

However, he was confused somewhat.

'Didn't Phoenix tell her to visit some friends? Weird...'

Paul laughed.

"See? I rest my case. Even her NAME is stupid."

Peck's blood began to boil at that comment.

"Be thankful I know your wand is pointed at me, because if I didn't, you'd have the force of a raging rhino directed at you."

"Why does that matter? Either way, I'd still cut you down."

Peck's rage paused for a moment.

"Good point, BUT YOU'D STILL HAVE THE FORCE OF A RAGING RHINO COMING AT YOU!"

Paul snickered.

"Ya know, the one thing you'd actually be useful for is comic relief. Did you know that?"

"So I've been told by my friends."

Paul sighed.

"As much as I'm enjoying this little chat, I'm afraid I'm going to have to kill you now."

Peck's practically exploded.

"YOU!? Kill ME!? I don't THINK so!"

Out of the corner of his eye, he began to see Phoenix stirring.

'C'mon boy, C'MON!' He thought.

Paul, meanwhile raised his wand and pointed it at Peck.

"It's a shame really. The Dark Lord could use someone like you."

Peck's blood was beyond boiling... it was flaming.

"Do you HONESTLY think I would actually JOIN that BASTARD?"

Paul sighed.

"I rest my case. AVADA KEDAVRA!"

Peck glared daggers at the oncoming green streak, which hit him full in the chest. The boy went sailing backwards, skidding to a stop some 25 feet away. His eyes were still open. Paul smirked.

"Overly-arrogant dork."

It was then that he noticed that Peck blinked. His jaw dropped.

"What the hell?" He whispered.

Shaking his head, he started walking towards Peck, unaware of Phoenix crawling towards the two. Slowly of course, but still crawling. Paul sighed and looked down at Peck, who was still breathing.

"Peck, Peck, Peck... why don't you just give in? It hurts, I'm sure."

Peck nodded mutely.

"See? You should just go quietly, and it will all go away. You see, I'm better than you, I'm more powerful than you, and I'm smarter than you. The Dark Lord was able to trick that fool Dumbledore into going to Fudge's office. You see Peck, the truth is-"

"The truth is you can still BURN you piece of crap!"

Paul turned just in time to see flames rushing at him. Phoenix sighed when he saw that the flames were off a bit and were only able to hit Paul's hair, causing the boy to run around, screaming like a maniac to put it out, until he ran into a wall and fell unconcious. Phoenix then put out the fire and put Paul in a full, unbreakable body bind.

Phoenix crawled over to Peck and sat down next to him. He smirked.

"Like how I handled Paul?"

Peck grinned, then shook his head.

"Phoenix my friend, you've seen The Matrix WAAAAAAAAY too many times."

Phoenix smacked Peck on the shoulder.

"Hey! I thought it was a fitting line."

Peck laughed, then paused.

"Uh, Phoenix? I don't think I'll be able to keep fighting..."

Phoenix nodded.

"Do you want me to drag you all the way to the hospital wing, or should I leave you here?"

Peck shrugged.

"I don't think any new Death Eaters will be coming this way, go help Professor Mcgonagall."

Phoenix nodded, grabbed his WAR (along with Peck's) and ran up to the portrait... only to remember it was closed shut.

"Crap... PROFESSOR! OPEN UP SO I CAN COME IN!"

He waited a few seconds, then the portrait opened, showing a very tired and beaten Mcgonnagall. Phoenix widened his eyes. The professor sighed.

"Thank goodness you're here. The Death Eaters are wreaking havoc. Fortunately, they haven't killed any students yet."

Phoenix nodded and entered the common room, though he may as well have been entering hell judging by the state of the common room.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10: We're Taking Back The School, One House At A Time

Phoenix entered the common room and his eyebrows shot into his hair.

"My god..."

The common room looked like it had been used as a battlefield for World War II, with couches and chairs overturned, small craters in the floor, and burn marks on the walls. It appeared that Mcgonnagall had herded all of the students behind a makeshift barricade consisting of several couches and chairs. The students turned to the two when they heard their footsteps coming from the portrait hole. Phoenix grinned.

"The Calvary has arrived kids."

There was a small cheer from the students, which was quickly silenced by a look from the professor. She turned to Phoenix.

"Alright, they've turned the boy's 6th year dormitories their home base-"

"You've got to be kidding."

"No I am not." She gave Phoenix a hard look.

"Damn. I'm just praying to the heavens that they don't know how to use muggle weaponry. Oh, take this WAR. Ya might need it"

He saluted the students and started to walk towards the stairwell. Knowing a frontal assault would be futile, he decided it would be wiser to try to clear out the dormitory with his two remaining grenades. Hugging the wall, he slowly made his way up, WAR at the ready. When he was about five feet away from the entrance to the dormitory, he paused. Thankfully, the door was open and thankfully, no Death Eaters were guarding the door. Quietly lowering his gun and grabbing a Stun Grenade, he pulled the pin, waited for a second, then chucked the grenade into the dormitory. Quickly grabbing his WAR again, he waited for a second, then heard a loud BOOM! Several seconds later, a lone Death Eater came out, holding Phoenix's Uzi. Phoenix narrowed his eyes.

"Now it gets personal..."

He aimed his WAR at the Death Eater and fired off several rounds, causing the corrupted wizard to fall to the ground. Walking up to him, he fired several more rounds at his chest. He then put down his WAR and picked up the Uzi. Popping out the magazine, he saw that it was fully loaded.

"Hmm... must've been part-muggle."

He quickly peeked into the dormitory, and then quickly withdrew it to avoid the fire of several Death Eaters who survived the blast of the grenade. He smirked.

"Time to clear the room."

He quickly burst in, gun blazing, and just fired off the round, sweeping across the room in an attempt to hit the Death Eaters. Once the magazine was out, he dove and rolled into the bathroom. Fortunately, there were no Death Eaters in there. Putting down the Uzi and picking up his WAR again, he dropped his ¼ full cell and replaced it with a new one. Grinning, he yelled out.

"Ho there! It must suck to know that a 16 year old boy was able to infiltrate your hideout without so much as a scratch!"

He heard some coughing from the other room and some groaning. Phoenix raised an eyebrow.

"What? Is no one able to talk?"

'I'd better not take any chances though...' he thought.

Grabbing his second grenade, he pulled the pin, waited a few seconds, then chucked it into the room. Quickly picking up his WAR, he waited until the explosion caused some mayhem, then ran into the room and started firing off his WAR in random directions. Once he was out, he ducked under bed and peeked out to check the carnage. There were no Death Eaters still standing.

"Yipee!"

Scrambling out from under the bed, he quickly ran over to his own bed and started to take down his guns from the wall. Once he had them all, he dug into his ammo bag for spare magazines for his various guns. He then made a quick side trip to the bathroom where his Uzi was still laying. Arms loaded, he walked back down into the common room.

"They are all stunned."

There was a cheer from the students, even Mcgonagall was clapping. Phoenix dropped his guns onto the floor and wiped his brow.

"However, even though they're stunned, I suggest you tie 'em up or something, Professor."

The teacher nodded and quickly made her way up the stairs towards the 6th year boy dormitories. Phoenix turned to the other students.

"Alright, here's the deal: Several Death Eaters are still at large, running around the school. So I want you all to stay here while I go out to help the other teachers bring down the remaining Death Eaters. I'm not sure if Mcgonagall is staying or going-"

"Oh, I'm staying with the students."

Phoenix nodded, then handed the Professor one of his colts.

"Now, you may have seen me with one of these, but the ones I use fire spells. This one fires actual bullets. I'm giving you several spare magazines in case you have to fire upon any more Death Eaters."

The Professor blinked at the gun in her hand.

"Err, Phoenix? I don't know how to use this."

One of the students, a 5th year, raised his hand.

"I know how to use a handgun Professor!"

Phoenix raised an eyebrow.

"You do? Come over here."

The boy nodded and walked over to Phoenix and Mcgonagall.

"Alright, I'm giving you the gun and the spare magazines? Are you any good with a Colt .45?"

The boy grinned.

"I use it all the time when I go to the shooting range."

Phoenix nodded.

"Excellent. Alright, then you should know how to unload an empty magazine and replace it with a fresh one?"

The boy nodded.

"Good. I will be going now. So long boys and girls!"

Phoenix walked out of the portrait hole and back into the halls of the castle in search of more Death Eaters.

Seamus, Dean, and Ginny were running with Professor Sprout as fast as they could. Of course, the three Gryffindors didn't have the faintest idea of where the Hufflepuff Common Room was, so they were following the Professor. At one point, they ran into a squad of Death Eaters, but before they were seen, they ran back behind the wall. Seamus, Dean, and Ginny looked at Professor Sprout and grinned.

"This is our job. Enjoy the entertainment. Alright guys, we're gonna clear 'em out. OPEN FIRE!"

They ran out from behind the wall and started firing like mad upon the Death Eaters, who were all stunned within 10 seconds. Ginny grinned.

"All clear Professor."

Sprout nodded and ran out from behind the wall, taking the lead again. They continued on their way to the common room, then the Professor stopped. She turned to the three Gryffindors.

"Alright, this next hall contains the entrance to the Hufflepuff Common Room. After today, your memory will be wiped so its whereabouts remain a secret to those who aren't in Hufflepuff."

The three nodded and they and Professor Sprout rounded the corner, only to find several Death Eaters guarding the entrance to the common room, which was a section of the wall covered in vines. Seamus, Dean, and Ginny, acting quickly, took out their WARs again and quickly fired a hail of red bolts upon the Death Eaters. Dean raised an eyebrow.

"This is too easy..."

Shrugging off the feeling, he and his comrades ran into the common room to find a war in itself going on. On one side, Death Eaters were firing spells at the students, who were on the other side of the room, hiding behind a barricade of couches and chairs. The Death Eaters saw the newcomers and started firing silver bolts at them.

"CRAAAAAAP!"

The four ducked and dodged while running towards the student's side. Once they were safely behind the barricade, Sprout immediately ran to her students and started to make sure they were all okay. Seamus, Dean, and Ginny started to make plans for their attack.

"Alright, I noticed several couches that were still in the center of the room."

"Right. Maybe one of us can run to one of the couches and hide behind it, forcing the Death Eaters to divide their attack between two different targets."

Ginny raised her hand.

"I'll go."

"Alright, we'll give you covering fire on the left side of the barricade while you run out from the right side."

The three nodded, then split up. Dean gave Ginny a thumbs up, then he and Seamus started to fire a barrage of stun spells upon the Death Eaters. Using this diversion, Ginny ran out from behind the barricade and made a break for a couch that was away from the clump of couches that the Hufflepuffs were hiding behind. The Death Eaters noticed this too late, for Ginny was ducked under the couch before they were able to fire at her. Deciding that they wanted to see some fireworks, they all simultaneously fired explosive spells at the couch, which exploded into little pieces. Ginny, caught by surprise, quickly made a break for the next nearest couch, firing all the while at the Death Eaters. She was able to hit one or two. Of course, with the Death Eaters focusing on Ginny, Seamus and Dean were able to take potshots at the Death Eaters. Soon enough, when the remaining Death Eaters realized that their numbers were strangely dwindling, they turned to see Seamus and Dean firing at them. They then directed all of their manpower at Dean and Seamus, thus allowing Ginny to then fire upon the Death Eaters with impunity. This "Seesaw Approach" was working quite well. So well, in fact, that the three Gryffindors were able to cut down all of the Death Eaters in less than 10 minutes, even though quite a few couches were destroyed.

Once Ginny was behind the barricade with all the students, she told the Hufflepuffs the news.

"They're all stunned."

She had hardly finished saying those words when the Hufflepuffs erupted in cheers. Ginny, Seamus, and Dean all took a bow.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you very much. We're here until Tuesday..."

Hufflepuff was clear.

Phoenix, meanwhile, was continuing on his way around the school, in search of more Death Eaters, picking off a few here and there that were scattered about, and he thought things were going good. That is, until he heard a laugh behind him. Turning around, he jumped back when he saw a cloaked figure with red slits for eyes, which reminded him of snake eyes.

"Whoever you are, get back: I have a loaded Uzi and I'm NOT afraid to use it. I'm a 6th year on the edge!"

Harry, Ron, and Hermione (and Hawk, who was hanging back somewhat) were walking at a brisk pace along side Professor Vector. Harry grinned as he though of something.

"Just like the old times isn't it? Us three as the saviors."

Hermione nodded.

"However, this time we have six other 'saviors' helping us with the rest of the school."

"And me... I guess." Hawk of course.

Harry looked thoughtful.

"True. But still, doesn't it bring back nostalgic memories of the old days?"

Ron nodded.

"Aye, that it does."

Professor Vector paused and turned to the four students accompanying him.

"Alright, we are nearing the corridor containing the passageway to the Ravenclaw Common Room. Once this ordeal is over, I'll have to perform a memory charm on all of you, excluding Hawk, so you'll forget where it lies and it's entrance continues to remain a secret."

The three Gryffindors nodded.

"Alright then, shall we go ahead first to make sure the coast is clear?"

"If you wish."

Ron raised his hand.

"I'll do it."

Grabbing his WAR and making sure the magazine was fully loaded, he peeked around the corner... only to find the next corridor empty. Turning back to the other three, he told them the news.

"It's empty."

Professor Vector sighed in relief.

"Thank goodness. I sincerely do NOT want to deal with Death Eaters attacking my house."

They continued down the corridor, stopping at a statue of a rather smart-looking scholar with several books in his hands. Professor Vector muttered the password ("Intuition.") and the statue jumped to the side, allowing the five to enter the common room. Unfortunately, someone cast a spell on the statue to keep it open, and the new arrivals didn't notice as several Death Eaters prepared to slink in.

Arriving in the common room, Professor Vector raised his hands to get the students' attention.

"Alright! Now, I want all of you to go to your dormitories, just in case Death Eaters somehow manage to-"

BANG!

An explosive spell barely missed Vector's head. All heads turned to the entrance to see a contingent of seven Death Eaters with their wands pointed at the occupants of the room.

"Shit. GIVE THEM HELL BOYS!"

"... and girl." Hawk muttered.

The four defenders started unleashing red bolts at the Death Eaters, but the dark minions were ready, dodging the streaks as they flew past. They ducked for cover behind a couch, Vector and Hawk (who decided she would act as a sort of body guard for the teacher) behind a second couch. Harry turned to his team.

"We'll be an easy target if we are all behind one couch. We have to spread out so the Death Eaters can't focus all of their firepower at one area."

Ron nodded in agreement.

"Alright. I'll go to the left and Hermione'll go to the right."

"Gotcha. Go."

The two leaped into action, diving for the nearest couch on their side, going so quickly that the Death Eaters didn't have time to react. Meanwhile, Professor Vector put his advanced magic to work and cast reflecting spells on all four couches, preventing them from being destroyed by any volatile curses sent their way.

The three Gryffindors looked at each other, nodded, and simultaneously got up so just their heads and guns were revealed, and started firing at the Death Eaters, Hawk pitching in as well. This caught them by surprise, but not for long. They only managed to get three down before the others ducked for cover.

Soon, it was a battle of attrition, each side hoping they could pick off the other before they were the ones that got picked off. The battle didn't look too favorable when the Death Eaters started using ricochet spells against the students.

Neville was starting to get bored. Most of the students in the hospital ward were out of critical condition and only needed time to work its own magic. Therefore, he had nothing to do but wait and fiddle with his WAR.

That is, until he heard footsteps coming quickly towards the ward.

'Death Eaters!' was the first thought that popped into Neville's mind.

Grabbing the detonator for the JLC4s he was given, he waited until the footsteps got a bit louder, before he turned to the students.

"Brace yourselves."

Click. BOOM!

A small shockwave rocked the hospital ward, disorienting several students in the process. Neville, ignoring them for the moment, ran outside, gun blazing, and cut down all five of the attacking Death Eaters with ease, since they were still shocked and wobbly from the explosives.

Walking back into the hospital ward, Neville was met with an angry Madam Pomfrey.

"What was that for, Longbottom? You may have caused even MORE injuries to the already injured students."

Neville, unphased by Madam Pomfrey, spoke coolly and with confidence.

"It was either that or risking the lives of these injured students when the Death Eaters came barging in."

Pomfrey blinked.

"Oh. Well, would you mind helping me get these students comfortable again?"

"Not a problem. Who needs some help!"

"I fell out of my bed, could you help me get back up?"

Neville turned to the source of the voice to find that it was none other than the girl he asked to the dance, Elizabeth Barrington. Nodding, he walked over to her and discovered she'd been knocked to the floor, flat on her back.

"Is there any limb or body part I should be careful not to touch?"

Beth shrugged.

"Well, my legs were a bit wobbly, but thanks to Madam Pomfrey, they're doing a great job of healing. However, I still can't get up on my own."

Neville held out his hand and she took it. Placing his foot in front of hers so she wouldn't slide, he pulled her up and helped her back into her bed.

"All good?"

Beth smiled.

"All good."

"Good. Anyone else need help?"

No one responded.

"Alright..."

"Neville, could you come here for a second?" It was Beth.

Neville, raising an eyebrow, walked back over to the girl.

"What?"

She looked down for a moment, then looked back up at Neville.

"I'm sorry for turning you down for the Halloween Dance..." She laughed.

"Funny how I remember that after all this time. Anyway, I'm also sorry that I've been cold towards you and your friends and shunning you guys. After all they've done for the school today, I'm ashamed of myself for not realizing that whether Phoenix and Peck are Americans or not, they are still great people. Will you accept my apology?"

Neville smiled.

"Of course."

Beth smiled back.

"Thanks."

Leaning up, she kissed him softly on the cheek. Neville grinned. Maybe things WOULDN'T be so bad after all...

Whoever was under that cloak was obviously not afraid of an Uzi-totting boy who was on the edge, for the... thing was cackling like a maniac at Phoenix's threat.

"You DARE to threaten me? You honestly think that your muggle JUNK can defeat ME?"

Phoenix shrugged.

"It's worth a shot, ain't it?"

The man/thing laughed further.

"My dear boy, run while you still can before I get bothered enough to kill you."

Phoenix raised an eyebrow.

"Dude, have you ever heard of an Uzi?"

The laughing stopped and the eyes narrowed.

"Did you just call me DUDE?"

"Damn straight, now answer the question: have you ever heard of an Uzi?"

"Did you just give me an ORDER?!"

Phoenix shrugged.

"If you want to take it that way. Personally, I consider it a request. Now would you mind answering the question?"

The eyes narrowed further, if that was possible.

"No, I HAVEN'T heard of an Uzi, whatever that is, and I can't believe the nerve of you, daring to give me orders and calling me something other than The Dark Lord or Master."

Phoenix pressed the trigger on his Uzi and filled the cloaked figure with lead, who stumbled back from the surprise and firepower. Once the magazine was out, Phoenix grinned.

"That, my friend, is what an Uzi does."

Phoenix, however, nearly dropped the gun when he saw the man shake his head and stand back up to his full height, although Phoenix could see holes in his body.

"Again, did you honestly think that your muggle junk could kill me? I think not."

"Dear mother of crap..."

The war effort wasn't going too well in the Ravenclaw Common Room ("we're pinned down!" "No duh!"), until the three Gryffindors realized an obvious thing.

"Why the hell did we lug this grenade launcher around if we aren't gonna use it? Gimme a grenade!"

"Harry, you're a genious..."

"No, you're all dumb."

Ron sighed.

"Grenade in."

BANG! KABOOM!

The Death Eaters were thrown from their defensive position and laying askew in plain view. Grabbing their WARs, Harry, Ron, and Hermione let the Death Eaters have it until they were all stunned. They then turned to Professor Vector.

"Sir, would you mind putting a binding charm on all of them? Thanks."

The professor went about binding the Death Eaters as the three turned to the rest of the students.

"Alright, it's safe now."

Again, more cheering. Ron looked at his comrades.

"Shall we continue hunting throughout the castle?"

Hermione nodded.

"Yeah, that would be best. Professor? You will stay with the students, won't you?"

"Of course."

"As will I." Hawk of course

Harry nodded.

"Alright, we will take our leave then. So long Hawk, Professor." He said, nodding to both people.

The three left the common room and set out in search of more Death Eaters.

Things weren't going well for Phoenix. He suddenly realized that his weaponry was useless, the actual guns anyway. The man laughed some more.

"You are as good as toast, my friend."

"Who are you?"

"Well, if you really must know, I'll humor you. My name is Lord Voldemort."

"Well, Voldie, how do you plan going about turning me into toast?"

Voldemort was seething.

"How DARE you call me that..." He said, no words fitting enough to describe what Phoenix had called him.

"What? Don't like being called Voldie? I feel a rap song comin' on. HEY VOLDIE! YO VOLDIE! 'SUP VOLDIE! YOU ARE SUCH A DORK VOLDIE! I'D HATE TO BE YOU VOLDIE! TOO BAD YOU HAVE AN IQ OF –15 VOLDIE!"

He bowed.

"Now, I know that's not really rap, but it's the best I can d-"

"OKAY, YOU DIE NOW!"

Phoenix narrowed his eyes.

"Really now?"

"YES!"

"Overly-cocky git."

"WHAT!?"

"Self-centered dumbass."

"YOU WILL STOP CALLING ME NAMES!"

"Lord Dorkinator."

"ARGH!"

"Piece of crap that got stuck to someone's shoe."

"I WILL KILL YOUR FRIENDS SLOWLY AND PAINFULLY!"

Phoenix stopped his name-calling and glared at Voldemort.

"You will do no such thing."

Voldemort, obviously pleased he hit a weak spot, grinned an evil grin.

"Watch me."

"I said you will do no such thing."

"And I'll make you watch me, helpless and powerless to do anything."

"YOU WILL DO NO SUCH THING!"

"I WILL DO WHATEVER I PLEASE!"

"YOU WILL NOT HARM ANY OF MY FRIENDS AS LONG AS I CAN HELP IT!"

"Well then, maybe you won't be able to help it."

Phoenix charged at Voldemort and side-kicked him in the face. Flipping back immediately, he continued to glare daggers at the man in front of him.

"With every second I have, every breathe I can use, EVERY bit of strength I possess, I will NOT let you harm my friends."

If looks could kill, Voldemort would be six feet under with a gravestone and with some nice, pretty flowers on top.

"Ah, well then, I shall kill you first."

Phoenix laughed.

"I DARE you to kill me. Go on! Do it!"

Inside, Phoenix had no fear whatsoever, only rage at the man in front of him for even THINKING of trying to kill his friends.

"Alright. Avada Kedavra."

A green bolt shot at Phoenix, who glared at it.

"SEE YOU IN HELL YOU GODDAMNED B-"

But he couldn't finish his sentence as he was hit with the curse and sent flying backwards, unmoving.

Laughter emitted from Voldemort. Laughter that rang out through all the halls. Laughter that shook the portraits and caused their occupants to run in fear. Laughter that every teacher and student could hear. Laughter that chilled any kind soul to its very bone. Laughter that could only mean one thing: Voldemort had come.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11: Retribution and Aftermath

All of Phoenix's friends, Peck, Ginny, Ron, Hermione, Harry, Seamus, Dean, and Neville heard the bone-chilling laughter, and all of them, though they all couldn't hear each other, said the exact thing.

"Oh no..."

Even all the teachers had heard the laughter. The House Heads made their students go to their dormitories and then went out to meet up with others. Eventually, all of the teachers and the 7 remaining Team Matrix members had gathered in the hall, quietly talking about what to do with the new threat when the oak doors, which had closed themselves after Phoenix entered earlier, had burst open again. Every head once again turned to the newcomer and gasped at who it was.

Dumbledore.

And BOY did he look angry. Seething would be more like it.

With the flick of his wand all of the stunned Death Eaters in the hall were bound together with invisible, unbreakable ropes and Dumbledore continued walking towards the congregation of teachers and Gryffindor students (muttering things in which the words "tricked" and "foolish" were heard), who parted to let him in. Looking from one face to another, he spoke in a barely controlled voice, the rage apparent in it.

"What is the status of the situation?" He said, cutting right to the point.

Harry spoke.

"All students from Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw have been evacuated and are currently in their respective dormitories. We haven't had any sign of Phoenix or Peck, however."

Dumbledore nodded, immediately catching on that Team Matrix decided to lend a hand. Hermione piped up to provide one more crucial detail.

"Oh! Just a few minutes ago, we all heard laughter that we concluded was Yo- Voldemort's sir."

Again, Dumbledore nodded.

"This is grave news indeed."

Again, someone spoke. This time, it was Professor Mcgonnagall.

"Albus, I'm pretty sure Phoenix was the one who was on the receiving end of the Dark Lord's wrath, as I saw Peck on the floor outside of the Gryffindor Common Room before I came down here. I quickly brought him back into the common room of course, but he was alive, which was an indication that he hadn't faced..." she took a deep breath, then sighed. "Voldemort."

For the third time in the few short minutes he was with the group, Dumbledore nodded.

"Well then, we must find Voldemort at once and force him out of the castle. Now don't worry." He said, noticing the look of apprehension on every face present. "We will all stick together and do this as ONE." He said, emphasizing that last word.

Everyone nodded and took out their wands, Team Matrix included. Obviously, they realized that their WARS were useless, since Phoenix would've undoubtedly tried it and of course, failed.

"Come."

And thus, everyone followed Dumbledore out of the Great Hall in search of ol' Voldemort. Of course, since Dumbledore knew the school so well he could walk the halls blindfolded, his search was very systematic, covering every hall and corridor on the first floor, then moving on to the second, and the third. However, halfway through their search of the fourth floor, Dumbledore stopped and motioned for the others to do the same. Once he was sure everyone had stopped moving and was waiting for further instructions, he called out.

"Tom! You can lower your wand now. A surprise attack won't do you any good."

The students and teachers heard a sigh and an oily (even oilier than Snape's) voice respond.

"How did you know I was here, and must you call me that?"

Dumbledore chuckled slightly.

"Of course Tom, it is your name. As for your first question, the walls told me. Yes Tom, they speak to me."

A cloaked figure stepped around the corner as students and teachers (except Dumbledore) alike gasped. Dumbledore raised his wand.

"Now Tom, you either leave my school at once, or I will make you do so."

The man (or was it a thing?) laughed.

"You may be powerful Dumbledore, but I assure you: you will not be able to make leave this school of yours."

Dumbledore raised an eyebrow over his half-moon spectacles.

"I take it you will not leave on your own free will?"

"Of course not."

"Very well. Students! You may want to get back. Same goes for the teachers."

Again, Voldemort laughed.

"Oh ho! Since when did I say the students are safe?"

Dumbledore paused.

"You will not harm my students."

"Oh, I won't?"

"No you will not."

Voldemort chuckled.

"I've already taken care of one of your students. Why shouldn't I... finish the job?"

"Because you won't have a chance to."

Dumbledore then leapt into a fury of spell-casting, shaking dust from the old walls of the school and shrouding the hallway in a fog. The students and teachers, who had ducked for cover, could hear bangs and explosions and shouts from the two duelers and could see the light from explosions and sparks and multi-colored streaks that were spells. Apparently, Dumbledore was always one step ahead of Voldemort, who was doing his best to avoid the spells sent his way. And of course, since you can't apparate within the school, the Dark Lord couldn't teleport his way to safety. Therefore, he wasn't able to cast the killing curse, as he was doing his best to find the proper blocking spell to each attacking spell Dumbledore launched at him. Finally, it appeared that one of Dumbledore's spells struck the twisted wizard, as there was a cry of defeat and the spell-casting had stopped. When the dusted and debris had settled, the onlookers could see the defeated wizard, barely standing, glaring at Dumbledore.

"You haven't seen the last of me, old man."

With a loud bang, a painfully bright light filled the hall, blinding the teachers and students, and when they were able to regain their vision, the most feared wizard in all of Britain was gone.

A cheer rang through the hall. It was louder than the bone-chilling cackle that was heard only minutes before. It was loud enough for the entire castle to hear. And it got louder when the students in their dormitories and the Hospital Ward joined in. It was a cheer that petrified the remaining conscious Death Eaters with fear, for it meant their imminent defeat. It was a cheer that brightened the down morale of the injured, some of which attempting to stand to cheer further. It was a cheer that made the surviving Team Matrix members smile, as they had accomplished their first real mission with flying colors.

It was a cheer that ultimately meant light had conquered dark in this battle of wizards and witches.

However, the high spirits of Ginny Weasley quickly dropped when she saw Phoenix several yards ahead... and he was not moving.

"Oh no."

Ginny, ran up to the boy and knelt by his side. Since she was experienced and checking vital signs (what do you expect from a girl who had to live with six wild brothers?), she immediately put two fingers to his wrist. Nothing. Frantic, she tried his neck. Again, nothing. By now she was downright desperate, and she brought her ear down just right above his barely parted mouth, trying in vain to hear breathing. Finally giving up, she started sobbing, hugging the limp boy as if her life depended on it. Her friends (as well as the teachers), noticing her sobs, ran over to her to see what was wrong. Looking up, eyes bloodshot, she turned to her concerned friends and motioned to Phoenix.

"Dead."

Silence. Total, utter silence for a good 15 seconds, interrupted by Ginny's intermittent sobs. Harry was the first to react.

"No..."

The truth had finally hit him, and it had hit him hard.

"NO! No. No no no no no no NO!"

Ron's face was just blank, as if he had been hit by a truck and was still dazed from it. Dumbledore walked up to Ginny, who was still grabbing on to Phoenix.

"Ms. Weasley. I'm afraid holding on to Mr. Blazen will do you no good whatsoever. However, perhaps Poppy can do something more useful with your friend, perhaps find a way to prevent his death, if it hasn't already happened."

Ginny's eyes widened.

"B-but he's already DEAD! W-why do you think V-Voldemort laughed? He ki-kil-KILLED him Professor!"

That was all she was able to get out before she broke down sobbing again, holding on to the boy harder than ever. It may not be apparent as to why she was taking Phoenix's loss the hardest. Perhaps it was because he had helped her with so many things, be it academic or social. Perhaps it was because he included her in everything he and his friends did. Perhaps it was because he was such a free spirit, and that touched her. But most likely of all, perhaps it was because she harbored feelings for him.

However, this was seemingly not apparent to Dumbledore (but then again, it's Dumbledore, so he probably knew anyway), who sighed and raised his wand.

"Please forgive me for this. Stupefy."

Ginny, struck with the spell, stopped sobbing and became limp, though she was still breathing. Bending down, Dumbledore gently removed her arms from the boy and conjured a stretcher, upon which he placed Phoenix and floated gently in front of him. When he was done, he started walking slowly with the stretcher towards the Hospital Ward.

Peck was on a couch in the Gryffindor Common Room, one of the few that was still intact anyway, when he heard the portrait swing open, indicating that someone had entered.

Now you must remind yourselves that Peck had been hit with the Avada Kedavra Curse, and had miraculously survived, so he was still quite unstable, most likely too unstable to brave the long trip to the Hospital Ward. Therefore, Mcgonnagall decided it would be best that he stayed in the Gryffindor Common Room to recover enough so that he could go to the Hospital Ward for better medical treatment. In his mind, Peck thought he was recovering quite nicely and would be ready to leave the common room in about half an hour.

However, his thoughts were interrupted when he saw that the newcomer was none other than the Head of Gryffindor House, Professor Mcgonnagall. Nodding so that she knew he acknowledged her presence, he greeted her.

"'Ello Professor. What's up?"

"Mr. Smith, Mr. Blazen, your friend, is in an extremely critical condition, if not dead. Normally, I would say he was dead without thinking otherwise. However..." she looked at Peck pointedly before continuing, "YOU were able to survive the killing curse, so maybe Phoenix had done the same."

The poor boy nearly fell from his position on the couch and onto the hard floor.

"You-you're kidding, right?"

One look at the sad expression on his Transfiguration teacher's face told him otherwise.

"Where is he now?"

"The Hospital Ward. Now Mr. Smith, I do not want you to-"

"I'm going."

"But you're not ready to make the journey, it would be well-nigh impossible."

Peck, indignant at the comment, gently swung his legs over the edge of the couch and, using the end for support, slowly and wobbly got into a standing position.

"Do not tell me what is impossible Professor."

(A/N: sighs The ONE good scene in Pearl Harbor, and it wasn't even about the bombing... stupid director...)

Mcgonnagall nodded and offered her arm to the weakened boy, who gladly took it.

"Now, I'm not saying I'll be able to make it to the Hospital Ward in five minutes, but I'll make it, just you see."

Ginny, who had been taken to the Gryffindor Common Room by her friends under orders of Professor Mcgonnagall, arrived after Peck had left and was taken up to her dormitory by Hermione. Once there, she was Enervated by her friend, and her eyes snapped open. After she became somewhat aware of her surroundings, she realized Phoenix wasn't there.

"Phoenix! Where-?"

Hermione quickly hushed her.

"He's in the Hospital Ward. No you can't go." She added, answering Ginny's unasked question. The distraught girl sighed.

"Is he going to be okay? Is he?"

"I don't know Gin. I really don't know."

After the remaining Death Eaters had been taken out (which involved storming the Slytherin Common Room) and tied up with their comrades, the clean-up process had begun. Students had been allowed out of their dormitories and were helping the teachers in any way they could. All except for the Slytherins of course.

Even some people who had been taken to the Hospital Ward for minor injuries were back up and running again, helping out as well. The castle was buzzing with activity, everyone scrambling to fix the damaged school. The more advanced students were repairing statues and removing craters while first years were running errands and carrying supplies around for the teachers.

Dumbledore was part of the clean-up effort as well, clearing up hallways in the same systematic fashion he used when searching for Voldemort.

True to their word, the members of Team Matrix who had entered the common room's of other houses allowed memory charms to be placed on them so they would forget the entrances to the other common rooms.

As this was going on however, one member of Team Matrix was having an internal battle of strength. Which would be stronger: will or death.

After he was hit with the curse, the next thing Phoenix remembered was that he was thrown into utter darkness. Darkness that was so dark, he couldn't even see his hand if it was an inch in front of his face. He tried calling out "Whoa... where am I?" But he heard nothing, not even a whisper. However, his brain was still functioning, so was his mind.

'Alright, this is getting freakier and freakier by the second...'

It was then that he realized he couldn't move. He couldn't even wiggle his toe or blink an eye, not that he could tell whether his eyes were open or closed.

'Okay, this is definitely NOT good. How the hell am I supposed to get out of this mess?'

It was then that he heard maniacal laughter, very similar to the laughter he heard right before he was hit with that green curse...

'Oh no. Not YOU again...'

Peck was still walking towards the Hospital Ward with Mcgonnagall while everyone was scurrying around trying to fix up the place. Even though they were going at a slow pace, it was steady nonetheless. Trying to strike up a conversation, he turned to his teacher and posed a question.

"Professor? Why do you think the Death Eaters did an all-out siege on the castle?"

Mcgonnagall pondered the question for a moment, then turned to look at the boy.

"If I am not mistaken, the Dark Lord is getting more and more desperate to get rid of Mr. Potter before he graduates from this school and becomes even more of a threat to him. Apparently he was so desperate that he was willing to risk his entire army of Death Eaters to kill the boy."

She paused for a moment, then smiled at Peck.

"However, thanks to you and your friends, that gamble turned out to be unfavorable for him."

Peck stopped walking so he could make a deep and flamboyant bow.

"Why thank you m'lady. You are too kind."

Mcgonnagall chuckled for a moment before she and Peck continued walking towards the Hospital Wing. Finally, after about 10 more minutes, they reached it and Peck slowly let go of the professor's hand. He then started a very wobbly walk towards a bed at the far end of the ward. That is, until he was stopped by Madam Pomfrey.

"Mr. Smith, I'm afraid you cannot visit your friend. He is in critical condition and must be left alone."

Now under any other circumstances, Peck would've blown up at Pomfrey and demanded that he be allowed to see Phoenix. However, he had grown wiser since his last visit here, and he figured that calm reasoning would most likely be more effective.

"I must admit Madam Pomfrey, you do have a fair point. However, Phoenix has been my best friend for over 7 years. Now, do you honestly think I'd be able to live with myself if Phoenix died and I wasn't able to say goodbye? Put yourself in my shoes Miss, imagine that it is you who wishes to visit a dying friend who's been so close to you for years. Wouldn't YOU want to have the right to say goodbye? Wouldn't you?"

Apparently, that seemed to work, for Madam Pomfrey, who seemed close to tears from Peck's small speech, nodded.

"Very well, but you have only five minutes."

Peck smiled.

"That'll be plenty time for me. Thanks."

Hobbling over to Phoenix's bed. Sitting down slowly next to Phoenix's head, he smiled weakly.

"Hey dude. What's up?"

Sighing slightly, he continued on.

"Alright, you don't need to tell me. It's obvious what's up. You're close to death and probably can't hear me, so you need me to shut up and allow you to concentrate. However, that ain't gonna happen. I'm not gonna let you go without saying goodbye first."

He then paused only to give Phoenix a stern look.

"Now don't take that as encouragement to give up. I won't allow you to put in a substandard attempt at surviving this. And if you DO make it through, you're gonna have some happy friends, let me tell you."

Peck paused for a moment, then snickered and leaned over to whisper in the boy's ear.

"And I'm sure you'll make a certain Weasley girl extremely happy when you come out of this.

After that last comment, Peck grinned. Getting up from his position, he ruffled his friend's vivid red hair and started walking back towards Pomfrey.

"Thank you. Now if you don't mind, I do think it would help if you gave me some medical attention: I'm still quite weak."

"Certainly, right this way..."

Phoenix sighed to himself when he heard the laughter grow louder. Apparently, Voldemort hadn't lost the power of speech, for speak he did.

"Oh, but of course it's me. Who else would it be? Your friends? They aren't your friends, really, since they allowed you to die alone."

Phoenix made an attempt to glare at the twisted man in front of him.

'My friends would've done their best to protect me had they been with me. It was my option to go searching alone.'

"But was it really? Now, if your friends were real friends, they would've been adamant that you wouldn't go alone."

Phoenix mentally laughed.

'The only one with me at the time was Peck, and thanks to Paul, he wasn't in any condition to accompany me.'

"Are you sure? If he was truly your friend, he would've made every attempt he could to go with you. However, he only cared about his health and not yours."

Phoenix tried to mentally flick off the man.

'Now you listen here Voldie, and listen good. I, being a real friend to Peck, allowed him to stay where he was to rest. I didn't force him to go with me. I cared about HIS health and not my own, and that is apparently YOUR opinion of how a real friend should act, so therefore, I AM a real friend towards Peck. So shut your ugly mouth and don't TELL me that Peck isn't a real friend.'

"Ah, ah, ah. Not so fast my dear friend. Peck, although glad that you would allow him to rest, would have been adamant to go with you and not accept your offer."

Of course, he knew sweet-talking to Phoenix would be useless, as his friendship with Peck was far too strong to overcome with just talking alone. Therefore, he had silently cast a demoralization spell on Phoenix, thus making his job ten times easier. It wasn't a spell which you would use a wand for, it was sort of a mental aura thing. So, after that last little comment, Phoenix was starting to feel the effects of the spell.

'As much as I hate to admit it, you have a point...'

Voldemort grinned.

"But of course I have a point. You see, I can be a real friend to you. I can stand up for you no matter how weak you are or I am. I can do everything a real friend should, unlike your fake friend Peck."

Phoenix paused, perplexed.

'But you tried to kill me...'

"Oh no, I only did that to bring you here, so that I could talk to you while you weren't under the influence of your friends. I would NEVER try to kill you. Come with me and you will lead a happier, longer life. Stay with Peck... well, I can't guarantee anything."

Phoenix tried to nod.

'Alright...'

However, at that moment, it seemed that Peck had finally made it to the Hospital Ward and to his bed, for Phoenix started to hear his friend talking, and started to remember how amazing his friend was, and how wrong he was to abandon him, and how horrible Voldemort was to lie to him.

'You're lying to me...'

Voldemort, apparently unhappy that Peck had gotten through to him, was starting to lose concentration on his demoralization spell.

"Of course I'm not you idiot boy. I'm your REAL friend. Peck is just trying to get you back under his influence again."

'Did you or did you not HEAR him speak? THAT WAS NO LIE YOU DUMBASS! PECK IS MY REAL FRIEND!"

It was then that he realized he was able to speak. Voldemort sighed in exasperation.

"I can't believe that you would believe him-"

"YOU SHUT UP THIS INSTANT! I WILL NOT ALLOW YOU TO INFLUENCE ME ANY LONGER!"

He then realized that he was able to regain control over the rest of his body.

"NOW WHERE THE HELL AM I!?"

Voldemort sighed again.

"You are in the shadow realm, one of my favorite places. However, I don't understand why you didn't die, as you should have."

Phoenix narrowed his eyes.

"So you DID try to kill me..."

"Of course I did you idiot boy. Why else would I cast the killing curse?"

"I demand that you shed light on this place."

Voldemort laughed.

"I couldn't shed light here even if I wanted. Did you not hear me when I said this is the shadow realm? You'll just have to get used to what little light you have."

Phoenix, hearing his voice long enough to have an idea as to where he was standing, promptly walked up to the man and aimed a punch for his face.

WHAM!

"Bingo... and a point goes to Blazen as he pulls off a hit against Voldie..."

Voldemort glared at the boy.

"Since I can't use my wand here, I'll have to kill you with my own two hands..."

Phoenix grinned.

"Not today. Today I live, since I have something worth fighting for: friends. What do you have that's worth fighting for? Power? Pah, power can only go so far. In the wise words of Clarence the Angel: No man's a failure if he has friends."

Crossing his arms over his chest, Phoenix stuck his tongue out at Voldemort.

"Who the hell is Clarence the Angel?"

Phoenix sighed and shook his head sadly.

"Voldie, Voldie, Voldie. You really should watch more movies. Ever heard of the classic called 'It's A Wonderful Life?"

"No."

"I rest my case. Now bring it on you oversized fungus."

Ginny had finally recovered from her sobbing and contented herself with laying in her bed and just staring and the red and gold curtains around her. Hermione had fallen asleep on the bed next to her, as she had stayed with the distraught girl so she didn't feel alone. However, Ginny felt so alone, she would have been better off if she had been in Antarctica. Well, better off there if she knew Phoenix was alive anyway. She was an idiot! The same day she found some... feelings for the boy was the same day she lost him. Oh, the irony, the IRONY! She sighed.

'Oh, what a cruel world this is. I may as well go down there to say goodbye to him.'

Sitting up, she prodded Hermione on the shoulder to wake her up.

"Hey, Hermione. Wake up. We're going down to the Hospital Ward."

Hermione's eyes snapped open and she too sat up.

"Are you sure you want to?"

"Yes."

Hermione gave Ginny a stern look.

"You aren't going to cry at the sight of Phoenix, are you?"

Ginny raised an eyebrow.

"Why do you say that?"

"Isn't it obvious? You love the boy half to death! No pun intended. I'm not dumb you know. There is NO other explanation for why you were crying so hard when you saw him and why you refused to let go of him even after Dumbledore asked you to. He had to stun you for crying out loud!"

After Hermione's brief speech, Ginny's cheeks were glowing.

"Is it that obvious?"

"What? Are you worried about the other boys noticing?"

"Sorta..."

"Don't worry, they're boys: they wouldn't notice someone's affection towards another person even if it was in the form of a radioactive tap dancing pineapple."

Ginny giggled a bit, then gave Hermione a weird look.

"What?"

"Radioactive tap dancing pineapple?"

Hermione shrugged.

"It works for my point, and that's all that matters, now are we going or not?"

Ginny nodded and the two set off out of the Gryffindor Common Room and down towards the Hospital Ward.

Phoenix went into a fighting stance as he readied himself for Voldemort, who was doing nothing.

"What? Aren't you going to attack me?"

"No."

"Aww, is wittle itty bitty Voldie too scared to attack big buwwy Phoenix? Huh?"

Voldemort glared at Phoenix.

"No. I'm formulating an approach of how to attack you so that you're obviously superior melee fighting skills would be useless."

Phoenix started clapping.

"For anyone who heard that, mark your calendars: that's probably the first time Voldemort admitted he stinks at something."

"I did not say that, I said you're melee fighting skills are obviously superior to mine."

"I know, you said you stink at melee fighting."

"I did not."

"Yes you did."

"No I didn't."

"Yes you did."

"NO I DIDN'T!"

"Prove it... wimp."

"Did you just call me a wimp?"

"Damn straight."

"Okay, you die now."

"You can talk the talk, Voldie. But can you walk the walk?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Phoenix sighed.

"Dude, you HAVE to get out more often. In other words, you can make threats, but are those threats just threats? Or can you actually do what you threaten to do?"

"Huh?"

"Is your pea-brain incapable of comprehending my basic explanation? Now are you going to attack me or not?"

"Just because you insulted me, I WILL attack you."

Without further ado, the most feared wizard in all of Britain charged at Phoenix, who easily sidestepped him and punched him in the ribs. Finished with his counterattack, he jumped away so Voldemort couldn't hit him with his brute strength. Not that he would've been able to do so anyway, as he was staggering away with his arms at his side, glaring at Phoenix.

"You little pest. The nerve of you to actually do such a thing?"

"What? Did you think I was going to paint a target on my face and wait for you to punch me? Hell no. Get used to the fact that I'm better than you and get used to it quick."

"You are not better than me."

"Oh ho old man! You told me just a moment ago that I had superior melee skills! Are you going to go back on your word? Even after I was able to give you a blow to the ribs?"

"This time, you won't be able to."

And before Phoenix was ready, the man jumped him and tackled him to the ground.

"Crap..."

Ginny and Hermione finally made it to the Hospital Ward and approached Madam Pomfrey.

"How's Phoenix doing? He's not... dead, is he?"

Madam Pomfrey shook her head.

"Actually, he isn't. I did a heart test and found out it's beating. The beating is practically nothing, and it's only once every ten or fifteen seconds, but it's beating nonetheless."

Ginny raised an eyebrow, and nodded.

"Well, can I see him?"

Madam Pomfrey sighed.

"Peck just asked to see him not half an hour ago, but I guess you can. Five minutes, nothing more."

It was Hermione's turn to raise an eyebrow.

"Peck's here?"

"I sure am."

Both Ginny and Hermione turned to see Peck in one of the bed's, head propped up with a pillow. Fortunately, he wasn't in any casts, splints, or anything else of the sort.

"Peck?"

"Yeah?"

"Why are you here?"

"To get better."

"I mean, how'd you come down? Weren't you in the Gryffindor Common Room?"

"I walked down."

"Aren't you weak?"

"Mcgonnagall helped me."

Hermione shrugged.

"Whatever. Gin an' I are gonna see Phoenix now."

Peck laughed.

"Ah, I gave him a little pep talk a while back. Hopefully it got through that thick skull of his. Just kidding, his skull's not thick." He quickly added, noticing Ginny's death glare.

Nodding, Ginny pulled Hermione along as the two girls walked over to the farthest bed, which was still curtained off. Hermione sat down in a chair next to the bed, but Ginny sat down on the bed next to Phoenix. Looking at his face, she noticed something odd.

"Did his face have an expression of concentration before?"

Hermione shook her head.

"Must've moved."

"Which means he's alive!"

Hermione sighed.

"I'm not dumb Gin."

Ginny shrugged.

"Ah well, it's still good to say it."

Looking down at Phoenix, Ginny put a hand on his forehead.

"Whatever it is that you're concentrating on, I hope you pull through Phoenix, I really do."

She then leaned down and planted a soft kiss on his forehead.

"Good luck."

Standing up, she walked over to another chair and prepared herself for a vigil that would most likely last a long time.

Voldemort was having a field day with Phoenix trapped, doing swing punches to his head and bending his legs in ways they shouldn't be bent. However, Phoenix had a plan. He was giving Voldemort the illusion that he was getting weaker and weaker. That was not the case: all those years of he and Peck roughhousing had an effect on him. Therefore, good ol' Voldie was getting more and more precarious with his hold on Phoenix when all of a sudden-

WHAM!

Phoenix gave him a kick to the back of the head, which really reduced Voldemort's grip on him, allowing him to get up, grab the man's arm, and twist it behind his back. Pinning it down with his knee, he did the same thing with his other arm. He then grabbed both wrists with his hands and stepped on the back of both of Voldemort's knees.

"In pain yet? No? (WRENCH!) How 'bout now? Not yet? (POP!) Oh, that didn't sound comfortable. Man, will this be entertaining to tell my friends when I get out of here."

Voldemort, who was still writhing around in pain, was unable to answer.

"Geez, you look like your arms are twisted in odd angles. Oh wait... never mind: they are."

Holding down both arms with one hand, he used his free hand to squeeze a pressure point behind Voldemort's head where it connected with his neck.

"If this doesn't hurt, I dunno what will. I mean really: your knees are in pain, your shoulders are in pain, and your neck is in pain. Can it get any worse? Actually, it can: I'm pretty sure the humiliation that you're getting your butt kicked by a 16-year old boy is pretty painful."

Suddenly, there was a tap on his shoulder. Turning around, Phoenix saw a fist moving quickly towards his face, barely dodging it, he saw it was... Voldemort?

"What the-?"

Both Voldemorts laughed. Yes, there was two. The one that wasn't pinned down prepared to strike again, but Phoenix jumped away before he could attack. The first Voldemort got up and brushed himself off.

"You are a fool. I never told you why I liked the shadow realm. I can summon minions of the dark at will."

"Why'd you summon yourself?"

Voldemort shrugged.

"Because I felt like it. Now, it's time to show you the true power of the shadow realm."

About 50 Death Eaters materialized out of the shadows.

"Oh shit..."

By now, the school was pretty much cleaned up. Clean enough, in fact, that classes could commence again. However, Dumbledore didn't feel that classes should start just yet. He summoned everyone into the Great Hall. Once everyone was assembled (except Ginny, Peck, and Phoenix: they were still in the Hospital Ward) at their respective tables and looking at him, he nodded slightly and stood up.

"As you all know, we were attacked by the entire force of the most feared wizard known to us: Voldemort."

There were quite a few shudders in the crowd at the name, but everyone was silent.

"Several students have been killed in this attack, and several have been injured."

He waited for this to sink in, as there was a murmur among the students, and several quiet sobs were audible.

"However, those who have been injured are all on the road to recovery, some fully healed in fact. All that is, except one."

Again he paused. When the crowd had finished quietly chatting again, he finished what he had started.

"Phoenix Blazen."

Several quiet jeers and snickering broke out. Hermione even heard one boy say "Serves him right." This, however, was quickly silence by a look from Dumbledore.

"Not one student here has the right to laugh or mock this young man, for without the aid of Mr. Blazen and his friends, this school may very well have fallen and would be under Voldemort's control right now."

Dead silence.

"Ah, so now you see just how helpful Mr. Blazen is. Now you all probably wish you never mocked him and his friends. Yes, I've noticed your cold attitudes towards Mr. Blazen and his comrades, and I've kept my mouth shut, as I knew he didn't mind. But even after you saw him in the midst of battle, rescuing you from the attack, you still dare laugh at Phoenix."

Again, dead silence. Dumbledore noticed several students hanging their heads in shame.

"However, my reason for bringing you all here was not to reprimand you. I ask that you all have a moment of silence in honor of this student and make a silent prayer that he is able escape the clutches of death and once again be among us."

Everyone nodded and looked down, eyes closed. The staff did the same as they all did a silent prayer that Phoenix would make it back alive.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12: Showdown II

"Oh shit..."

Voldemort laughed as Phoenix stared wide-eyed at the Death Eaters around him. And they weren't dinky, skinny Death Eaters, they were big, burly Death Eaters.

'They're like Crabbe an' Goyle on steroids...'

"Ah, so you see why I truly love the Shadow Realm, don't you? I'll be kind and even the odds a bit. Here."

Voldemort materialized a knife and tossed it to Phoenix, letting it clatter on the floor in front of him. Bending down, the boy picked it up and twirled it a bit in his hand.

"Better than nothing... I guess."

Holding the knife out in front of him, he turned to look at the circle of Death Eaters that was closing in on him like a noose around his neck. One of the Death Eaters stepped into the circle and cracked his knuckles, staring Phoenix down.

"C'mon boy. Scared?"

"Oh gee, I'm not sure. Let's see, I'm in a place that's really freaky, I've got a deranged dark lord who's after my head, this said deranged dark lord has the ability to summon dark minions and objects into the above said place that's really freaky, and the above said deranged dark lord who has the ability to summon dark minions and objects into the above said place that's really freaky summoned about 50 Death Eaters that could pose as human boulders. And as if to at salt into the wound, this above said deranged dark lord who has the ability to summon dark minions and objects into the above said place that's really dark and actually summoned 50 Death Eaters that could pose as human boulders decided to give me a knife to defend myself. So yeah, I guess I could say I'm scared."

The Death Eater blinked and scratched his head.

"Uh... whatever you say. Either way, I'm still gonna pummel you."

"Oh really?"

"Yup."

The Death Eater started running at Phoenix. Phoenix readied the knife, and when the Death Eater was no more than 10 feet away, the boy hurled the knife at the man, hitting him clean in the forehead and making the man stop in his tracks.

"Oh..."

The Death Eater then fell backwards and Phoenix immediately leaped forward to pick up the knife.

"So, you're gonna pummel me, eh? I dun think so."

Voldemort, clearly enraged that Phoenix was obviously skilled with a knife, yelled out a command to his minions.

"I want four of you to attack him from four different angles, AND TAKE NO CHANCES!"

Phoenix raised an eyebrow.

"Now things start to get interesting."

He looked around and noticed four more burly Death Eaters walking slowly towards him. Holding out his knife in front of him, he readied himself for this next attack.

'Alright, throwing the knife will be idiotic and absolutely stupid in this situation. So, it's time for some mano y mano combat then.'

After a few short seconds, the Death Eaters were no more than 5 feet away from him, but then they paused... for a moment anyway.

"Attack!"

All four of them leaped at Phoenix, who dropped to the ground. He cringed slightly when he heard a sickening crunch of bones compressing from extreme force. He then heard four thuds as the Death Eaters fell around him.

"Ouch..."

The four Death Eaters were then quickly taken out of commission before they could recover. Phoenix, even though he knew they were evil, never quite got used to the fact that he was killing people. Sure he opened fire upon the Death Eaters at the castle, but he merely stunned those guys.

"Hey Voldie! Are these guys real, or are they really realistic illusions? I mean, real people materializing out of thin air? Come on, you've gotta be kidding me right?"

Voldemort shrugged.

"They'll work for my purposes, won't they?"

Phoenix nodded.

'Well, at least they aren't real.'

This time, good ol' Voldie sent ten Death Eaters at Phoenix. Sure the boy could handle four guys, maybe even five, but ten? He wasn't so sure. The fighting commenced as Phoenix was able to down two Shadow Death Eaters, but then a third grabbed him. However, a few seconds after he grabbed him, he withdrew his hand immediately.

"His skin feels like it's on fire!"

There was a pause. Phoenix blinked. He then remembered the Fire Pill. Hadn't it been more than an hour? That's how long he intended for it to last. Shrugging, he continued fighting the now mobile Death Eaters, who were being more weary of Phoenix. After he was able, much to his surprise, to take out all ten Death Eaters, one from the circle raised his hand.

"My lord, would it help if you summoned swords for us to wield?"

"You fool! The moment one of you gets killed, that brat will take your swords!"

"But sir, how will he be able to if there are nine others ready to kill him, all of them with swords?"

Voldemort nodded.

"Very true. Alright then, if you think it wise..."

Phoenix, who was listening to all of this, was silently hopping up and down with happiness. That old geezer is a fool, thinking that Phoenix wouldn't be able to get his hands on those swords. And once he was able to get a pair... well... let's just say it won't be pretty.

He practically giggled when he saw swords materialize in the hands of the Death Eaters. Apparently Voldemort was getting cocky now that his minions had swords, for he only sent three at Phoenix.

'Piece of cake.'

The three Death Eaters charged at Phoenix, who jumped up and kicked two of the Death Eaters in the chest and threw the knife at the third. Quick as a flash, he bolted for the knifed Death Eater, took the knife and pocketed it. He then grabbed the swords and held them out in front of him. Voldemort practically yelled out in frusturation.

"YOU FOOLS! YOU ABSOLUTE FOOLS!"

Phoenix snickered.

"Ah, Voldie, did I ever tell you that my sword skills surpass those of my knife skills?"

The man was fuming.

"Where the bloody hell did you learn all of this, AND STOP CALLING ME THAT!"

Phoenix snickered again.

"Now, now Voldie, you mustn't use vulgar language in front of your minions. Tisn't lord-like. And to answer your question, do you honestly think my weaponry elective in White's Academy only taught me how to create magical weapons? Naw... fortunately for us, our instructor came from a long line of Samurai warriors and was well-versed in the art of many a weapon. Funny isn't it? Too bad you picked me to pick on instead of one of my friends, possible exception of Peck. I mean really, of all nine of us, you just HAD to pick the one who A, just LOVES calling you names, B, has hardly any fear of you, C, is talented at hand to hand combat, and D, hates it when people underestimate him, and BOY have you underestimated me!"

Voldemort let out a yell of outrage.

"You little brat! I STILL don't understand why you survived that curse I shot at you. No matter, you're going to die now."

Phoenix raised an eyebrow.

"Voldie, I think you've gone over the deep end of insanity and I think you've reached the point of no return. As for you killing me? I don't think- HOLY SHIT!"

The boy watched in horror as the swords in his hands melted and dripped to the floor. Voldemort was taken aback.

"I didn't do that..."

Phoenix then saw tiny, barely visible fires popping up at various points on his skin. They didn't hurt, but they were growing. The boy grinned and looked at Voldemort.

"Voldie? You're in for one heck of a surprise."

At that moment, it seemed as if the fires came across gasoline, for the boy exploded in fire. Voldemort started chuckling at the demise of his cocky opponent, but then stopped when he heard laughing coming from within the flame.

"What? You think this hurts? No way. Well, it might hurt YOU, but it ain't hurtin' me."

"Get him! GET HIM!"

All of the Shadow Death Eaters charged at Phoenix, but stopped from the blazing heat. Of course, Phoenix wasn't going to let them get away, oh no. He started chasing the Death Eaters around, trying to get close enough to burn them. Better yet, the fire was illuminating the Shadow Realm somewhat, so he was able to see better. Unfortunately, the Death Eaters may have been big and burly, but their leg muscles were too, so he wasn't able to catch any of them. He then realized he'd have to cast some sort of fire spell to get them. Closing his eyes, he concentrated on sending out a ring of flames that could hit the Death Eaters. After about five seconds, he pulled it off and watched as the Shadow Death Eaters dissolved before his eyes. Voldemort, unfortunately was out of the range of this fire blast. However, he seemed extremely pissed that Phoenix was able to take down his entire army of Shadow Death Eaters.

"Blast it! I will find away to kill you, brat! Until then, I cast the only curse allowed in this place: the Shadow Curse."

Phoenix's fire was immediately put out and he seemed to have lost control of his muscles, he couldn't even talk anymore.

'What exactly does this shadow curse do?'

Voldemort grinned.

"My dear boy, within a few hours, you will be struck with a terrible ailment. So terrible, in fact, that you wish you would be dead so it would be over. However, you can fight it, but no man has been willing to fight it, and succumb to death within a few hours of contracting it. If, for some amazing reason, you manage to survive this ailment for three days, it will go away. Why I am telling you this? I am confident you won't make it past the first day."

With that, Voldemort dissolved from sight and all Phoenix could hear was his laughing. Then all was silent and all Phoenix could do was wait for his impending doom.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13: Three Days of Hell

Day 1

Phoenix had several hours to wait before the pain started and let me tell you something about Phoenix: he usually finds waiting boring. However, this time he was appreciating every little second of no pain he had, trying to get back at least a little bit of movement and even trying to slow time down. Of course, that is impossible, so the best he could do was enjoy this non-pain time.

He decided to also use the time to think about his friends, the ones who stuck with him throughout this tough year in which he was constantly ignored and looked down upon by others.

There was Peck of course, the boy who was his friend of seven years. The one who met him on the block one day at the age of eight when Phoenix fell off of his bicycle and couldn't go anywhere. Naturally, Peck went to get help and Phoenix was grateful, so the two became friends. He was also the one who went to White Magic's Academy of Wizards with him for the last five years. The one who didn't ditch him when he made an enemy of Paul. The one who helped Phoenix with making all of those magical weapons. The one who was able to brighten even the most dreary of days with his ever-present humor. The one who Phoenix trusted the most.

Then there was Neville. Phoenix seemed to have made a personal goal of helping him specifically and make him improve both his skills and self-esteem, no matter how hard it would be. His efforts paid off quite nicely, for Neville turned out to be a nice young wizard who could do great things if he set his mind to it. It would be a shame if he couldn't see Neville advance with his life and see where it took him.

The young boy laughed when he thought of Hermione. Now there was a soul full of boundless energy. Well, boundless when you got to talking with her about school and classes. Talk to her about quidditch... well... you may as well be talking to the giant squid. His final thoughts of Hermione ended with all the times that she and Ron flirted in their strange way of arguing incessantly with each other.

Ron. Now THERE was a good lad if he ever saw one. Having to live up to the standards of five older brothers isn't an easy feat, and Ron was rising to the challenge admirably. Not only that, but he also had to live with being poor and constantly wearing second-hand clothes. And then there was the fact he was constantly being shadowed by Harry. Of course, this past year he had gotten into the spotlight more often with Team Matrix, but during all those years he was second to Harry, he didn't mind too much from what Phoenix could tell.

Speaking of Harry, Phoenix thoughts turned to "The Boy Who Lived". In Phoenix's mind, Harry had it worse than Ron did. He had an aunt, uncle, and cousin who hated him to death, he didn't have his parents to turn to, as they were killed by the twisted soul who had Phoenix where he was now. And moreover, he had the two extremes of fame in one school: The Creevey Brothers hero-worshipped him, and Malfoy positively hated him. Then again, Malfoy was an arrogant jerk, so his opinion didn't matter much to Phoenix.

His thoughts then drifted over to Seamus and Dean. Those two seemed to be close friends with each other even before they met Phoenix and Peck. They were quite a dynamic duo when paired up on pranks and from what Phoenix could remember, performed admirably during the siege that happened hours before... again the man behind it was the one who had Phoenix bound to the spot.

Then finally, Phoenix thought of Ginny. And in these thoughts of Ginny did Phoenix find the most warmth. He thought about how he had a silly crush on her since he first laid eyes on her. Of course, he didn't understand what his thoughts were at first, as he had never had a crush before. Then, he remembered distinctly that it was during the Halloween Party that he finally realized his feelings for the girl. Man, he would never forgive himself if he didn't live to tell her that he loved her. Amazing how love can come when you may never again have the chance to tell the girl you love her, isn't it? It was then and there that Phoenix stoutly made up his mind: I am NOT going to die. I don't care what Voldemort says about this Shadow Curse, I will LIVE! I'll do it for Harry, for Ron, for Hermione, for Peck... but most of all, for Ginny.

Apparently, Phoenix had spent quite a long time thinking about his friends, for at that moment, he started to feel pain. Severe pain. Excruciating pain. Pain beyond measure or human comprehension. Okay, maybe that last one was exaggerating, but you get the point... Phoenix's memory came to the Cruciatus Curse Paul had the boy attempt the boy to cast on Peck, and thought that this was how it must've felt to be hit by the curse.

The boy felt like a dart board. He felt like a pincushion. He felt like someone was practicing their knife-throwing on him. He felt like his tendons where being shredded apart, piece by piece, ligament by ligament. He tried to cry out in agony, but found that his mouth STILL couldn't move.

And then, it was over. After about five minutes of the pain... it just suddenly stopped. Phoenix attempted to raise an eyebrow, despite the fact he was still completely paralyzed.

'That CAN'T be all there is...'

And he was right, for the searing pain came back, but this time it was different. Instead of feeling like he was being shredded, Phoenix felt like he was being burned. He felt hot irons pressed against his skin. He felt flames licking his back and calves. He felt white-hot branding irons poking him at various points along his body. Not even the Fire Pill could relieve him of some pain, be it even just a little bit. Tears actually managed to escape the paralysis and well up in his eyes as he continued to feel the pain, but still unable to cringe and try to reduce it.

And again, the pain stopped. Phoenix was starting to sense a pattern: Five minutes of utter torture, then one minute to recuperate for the next round.

And indeed he was right, for the next round did come on after about a minute or so the next wave came on. But this one was neither shredding nor burning... it was something that was, in Phoenix's opinion, far worse: freezing. Icy winds came on in his mind, as did slabs of subzero ice being pressed against his chest and arms. He felt like he was being drenched in Arctic water, over and over again...

The next round of pain was electrifying... literally. Hundreds upon hundreds of volts shot through his arms and legs like bolts of lightning, burning him fully, yet not leaving any visible marks either.

After that came more slicing, but this slicing was more superficial, as Phoenix, much to his horror actually saw cuts open themselves on his arms, hands, and legs. The boy tried to shut his eyes, but of course was unable to move, due to the paralysis that he was once again rudely reminded of...

Ginny, who was previously starting to fall asleep, was jolted upright extremely quickly when she saw red lines appear all over Phoenix's face and arms. Quickly rushing over, she let out a terrified gasp when she saw that the red lines were cuts. Hundreds of them were opening themselves all over his body.

"Pomfrey! POMFREY!"

"What is it child? What is the- Oh my!"

Madam Pomfrey came rushing out when she heard Ginny yelling her name. She, like Ginny, gasped when she saw what was happening to Phoenix.

"C-can you do anything?"

"I can try by getting out a Closure Potion, a paste that seals up small cuts such as these, but I'm not sure if these cuts were opened by dark magic or not."

Pomfrey quickly ran over to her potions cabinet while Ginny continued to stare with wide eyes as even more cuts opened themselves up on Phoenix's skin.

"Hang in there Phoenix, just hang in there."

Phoenix, finally let out a breath (one of the few things he was actually able to do, mind you) as the cutting finally stopped.

'Lemme guess... the next round is a bunch of salt.' He thought wryly.

Much to his surprise (and relief), it WASN'T salt, but it seemed the torture cycle had finished and restarted itself, for it was back to the internal cutting of his ligaments and muscles. However, despite the pain, he started to get a soothing sensation on his skin and attempted to widen his eyes in surprise as his surface cuts started sealing. What he didn't know was that Madam Pomfrey's Closure Potion was doing its work and was even closing his mental cuts as well as his physical ones.

Unfortunately, it seemed that the shredding pain of this round was amplified somewhat, as it seemed slightly more unbearable than he remembered. As did the burning, and the freezing, and the electricity, and even the superficial cuts were deeper than before, but they were closed again after a few minutes. Round three was even more painful.

'Oh dear god, this is gonna be hell...'

The cleanup process of the school had finally been finished fully and completely. Classes had resumed, but there wasn't the usual chatter of happy, carefree students in the hallways. They were all dead silent, thinking about how horrible they had been to Phoenix, Peck, and the students whom they used to call friends. They were also silently hoping that Phoenix would recover.

Well, all of them, that is, except for the Slytherins of course. They didn't care about anyone, unless the person was in their house. And even then, it depended on whether or not that person was liked within the Slytherin house. But now I'm straying from the point.

However, even though they were usually silent, the students frequently apologized to any of Phoenix's friends whenever they saw them. And of course, they apologies were graciously accepted and then the person who was being apologized to (most commonly Peck, as he was Phoenix's closest friend) would thank the other students for taking the time to apologize.

And now, a day had passed and it was nearing the time when exactly one day has passed since Voldemort allegedly killed Phoenix...

Day 2

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THIS HURTS WORSE THAN RIPPING DUCT TAPE OFF MY LEG! DEAR GOD HELP ME!"

Phoenix was on one of the most painful electric rounds he had received yet. Of course, logic states that it can't be anything BUT the most painful yet, as the pain gets progressively worse. Regardless, the poor boy could've sworn he was being pumped with at least 2000 volts of electricity.

And then it stopped...about only two minutes after it began...

"Oh boy... that can't be a good thing. Well it can, it hopefully means the pain cycle is over, but what I'm worried about is what's next on the lineup."

Yes, Phoenix was now speaking. He'd finally broken the paralysis after some extreme pain and was now curled up into a tiny ball, shaking with pain. And then, he heard a deep booming voice.

"YOU HAVE TEN MINUTES TO RECOVER, YOU USELESS VERMIN."

Phoenix raised an eyebrow.

"Wonderful, not only do I now feel like I'm in a battle stadium thingy, but the announcer has a sense of sarcasm. Life's just peachy at the moment, ain't it?"

So ten minutes came and went, although they were very much appreciated by the very broken boy. However, Phoenix's thoughts were still on Phase I of the three days of hell. For him, the best part of the torture cycle was the superficial cutting, because each time, he healed a little bit. What was healing him, he didn't know, but the point was that he was becoming healed.

However, quite suddenly, the happy thought of being healed during the cutting evaporated. Phoenix tried and tried to recollect it, but he couldn't.

"Strange, one second I'm remembering... something good... and the next second I'm not..."

And then, he had forgotten about Peck... and Ginny, and Harry, and Ron, and Neville, an' all the rest of his friends. He couldn't remember any of them. Well... except for the time Peck had played that rather nasty prank on him when he sent that army of snowballs at him, and even after they hit, they repacked themselves and hit again. Oh, and he also remembered the time when he accidentally started mumbling Ginny's name in his sleep and the boys mocked him about it for weeks afterwards. That wasn't very nice. In fact, it was downright cruel.

"NO! These... these people are my... friends..."

Suddenly, he couldn't remember his parents, except for the times when they yelled at him. Heck, he couldn't remember Alex, except for, once again, the bad times, like when she'd blame him for something she did.

"Wha... No! Not Alex too!"

The only thing that he could think of that could do this to him was dementors, but when he looked around, he saw none.

The boy frantically tried to think of a way he could fight them off. Something, ANYTHING to ease things up a bit. He then remembered how Harry told him how his godfather, Sirius, had sort of fought off the dementors by thinking neutral thoughts.

"Alright, neutral thought, neutral thought... I can get out of here... wait... that's a good thing, thus making it happy... making what happy? Nuts... Okay... umm... I need to repay Peck the five galleons I owe him for the bet we made a few days ago."

Okay, so maybe that thought was reaching, but it wasn't being sucked out, so it had to work, right?

"But spending an entire day thinking about this bet? Oh man..."

As always, while Phoenix was in his comatose state, Ginny was keeping her constant vigil. Her friends would bring her armloads of books to read while she was waiting, but she never would leave the Hospital Ward. No, not even for breakfast, lunch or dinner... her friends provided that for her too. Sometimes she'd start a conversation with Phoenix. Of course, it was one way, but she hoped he would still be able to hear her. She was about to do so again, tell him about something or other that she found in her book.

"Hey, Phoenix, listen to... this...."

She gave him a weird look. His face was no longer contorted in pain. His jaw had slackened, his body was perfectly straight (instead of being curled up like before), and- were those tears trickling out of his eyes?

Ginny dropped her book and ran over, to get a closer look and such. She didn't notice anything else different other than his facial expressions and the fact that he was flat as a board. She checked his pulse... just like before. She put her hand to his forehead to see if he had a fever or something... it wasn't hot at all.

"P-Pomfrey! Come! Quick!"

And so the Head Nurse (heck, probably the only nurse in the hospital ward) came rushing out and over towards the distressed Ginny.

"What is it, child?"

"L-look at Phoenix!"

And so Madam Pomfrey finally turned her gaze to the boy and her jaw dropped.

"Oh my... let me get my things and see if he's alright. Maybe it's just another phase of his coma."

Ginny nodded and sat down next to where Phoenix's head was resting. She wiped away some of his tears and once again put a hand to his forehead.

"You alright? I hope you're okay in... well... wherever you are. 'Cause if you're not, then Peck's REALLY gonna be mad at you. I mean, for one thing, you still owe him those five galleons (A/N: snickers). But of course, the main reason he would be mad at you is because you let him down. And he'd also be sad of course... so would everyone else. You see Phoenix, you're like the glue of our group. You hold us together. You and Peck are the two hyper ones and the ones who plan most of our fun. And without you, Peck will probably lose his hyperness and become sullen, and then our group might slowly fall apart. I mean, sure we would still be friends, but the whole Team Matrix thing would probably cease to exist."

Ginny paused for a second.

"Speaking of that, I've been thinking of the name Team Matrix... it sounds kind of dumb, y'know? Corny I guess. Don't get me wrong, it's VERY fun to play characters from the Matrix movies, but the name has got to go. So, I think I'll go think of something else now. Good luck with whatever you're doing."

Phoenix was about to give in to the unrelenting and ever-persistent foul thoughts when he felt a soft touch on his forehead. He didn't know what it was... until he heard Ginny's voice yell out for Madam Pomfrey to come.

'GINNY! Maybe she'll give me some words of encouragement or something...'

So he waited for Ginny and Pomfrey to finish their conversation and then felt Ginny put her hand on his forehead again. Then he heard her speak, and so he listened... and when she had finished, his jaw would have dropped if he wasn't paralyzed.

'Holy... she's gonna change the name of Team Matrix? Okay, that wasn't her main point, and I guess it does sound kinda crappy. Ah well. I think her point was that I need to hang in there."

Her speech had given Phoenix a boost in morale. A HUGE boost in morale.

'Alright Voldie, throw anything you want at me. Heck, give me one o' them giants. Or would you prefer to send a whole army perhaps? Doesn't matter you jerk, I'll pull through. You hear me? I'll pull through!'

And so he continued thinking of those five galleons he owed Peck with renewed vigor. Yes, that was all he could think of even now.

The day passed on, classes were now in full swing, homework and all. The dark mood in the school had lightened somewhat. Friends had resumed chatting in hallways and whatnot. However, during mealtimes, everyone's thoughts turned to Phoenix. Most were hoping he would make it. The exception was the Slytherins, who were hoping he was going through as much pain as possible... stupid gits.

Ginny had finally thought up a new name, Los Salvadores, or "The Saviors". She approached her friends with it when they came for their hourly visit to Phoenix and they all agreed. Peck was the one who welcomed it the most, seeing as how it was in Spanish. He thought Spanish was a spiffy language. Why else did he and Phoenix use it for talking to one another in secret?

People made regular visits to Phoenix throughout the day, bringing presents and flowers and little trinkets they thought he would like. Heck some of the students even baked cakes for him. Of course, they put on charms that would prevent the pastries from becoming stale. And so, as the day wore on, Phoenix had close to a mountain of stuff at the foot of his bed. When Harry came with his friends, he snickered to himself. Man, he thought he had loads of stuff when he woke up in his first year after his encounter with Voldemort and the Sorcerer's Stone... Phoenix's pile was twice, almost three times as high.

And so, as people continually came to give Phoenix their best wishes and dropped of gifts for the sleeping boy, he was still going through his mental struggle with the dementors of his curse...

Phoenix felt that he was on Easy Street compared to other victims of this phase of the curse. He doubted the others had people who were almost constantly coming in, saying good luck, and telling of presents they had for him when he woke up. He doubted they had someone who was staying with them throughout the whole ordeal. He doubted they had a nurse standing by to help in any way she could. And above all, He doubted that any of the others thought that they had a hope of pulling through. Of course, Phoenix had all of these things, for which he was very grateful.

However, all good things must come to an end, and Phoenix felt his thought about a five-galleon bet become flooded with all these good thoughts of Peck, Ginny, Neville, and all the rest of his friends. It was very similar to the feeling of pulling really hard on a rope, and then being flung backwards as the force on the other end lets go.

"YOU HAVE TEN MINUTES TO PREPARE FOR YOUR NEXT CHALLENGE, YOU PIECE OF TRASH."

Phoenix sighed as he heard the voice yell at him again. Wait... did he just sigh? He blinked. Yes, he BLINKED.

"Can I talk? YES!"

He jumped up and down, happy to have regained control of his body once more. What the next challenge was? He didn't know, but he was sure it would be the hardest, being the Grand Finale and all. So, he would make the most of his ten minutes and hope it would last longer if he did fun stuff. But it was usually the opposite case: time flies when you're having fun.

Day 3

Just as Phoenix had thought, those ten minutes seemed like 10 seconds.

"ALRIGHT YOU PITIFUL CREATURE, ARE YOU READY FOR THE FINAL CHALLENGE?"

"Even if I wasn't, I doubt I would have an option to have more rest time..."

"DAMN RIGHT YOU WOULDN'T."

Phoenix sighed. So the voice could actually hear him.

"You can hear me?"

"DAMN RIGHT I CAN."

"Will you stop saying 'damn'?"  
  
"I'LL SAY WHATEVER WHAT I DAMN WELL PLEASE."

"I think you are the dumbest git who I've had the misfortune to meet. You're even worse than Draco Malfoy and Phillip Anderson."  
  
"I DON'T GIVE A DAMN ABOUT WHAT YOU THINK OF ME. YOUR TIME IS UP AND YOUR THIRD CHALLENGE WILL BEGIN."

"Whatever."

But apparently this third challenge wasn't a 'whatever challenge', because the world swirled around him, then corrected itself. When the change was completed, Phoenix looked around to see where he was. He had instantly regretted doing so, for what he saw practically killed him.


	14. Chapter 14

A/N: I refuse to write a disclaimer, because if you don't have the common sense to realize that the only thing I own is the freaking plot of this story and some characters, then you should be labeled a moron. But for those of you who do have the common sense to know that, read on

Be warned however, this chapter may disturb little kiddies or extremely squeamish people, but I hope it's toned down enough so that it won't make you upset...

Chapter 14: The Final Hurdle

"Oh... my... god..."

What Phoenix saw was the worst thing he would ever see in his life. It was like his worst nightmare come true or something.

Do you want to know what he saw?

Do you REALLY want to know what he saw?

You probably do...

What he saw was all of his friends chained up against the walls of this small, dark, stone room. What was worse, they all had what were obviously Death Eaters pacing in front of each one, and they were obviously their tormentors, for they had whips at their belts and he saw that his friends were bloodied, bruised, and cut.

Phoenix let out a cry of outrage and ran at the nearest Death Eater, cocking his arm. Once he was close enough, he unleashed the full force of his fist upon the horrible cretin... and blinked when it went right through the thing. He tried again... and again... and again... but the same thing happened.

"I'm... I'm helpless. I can't do anything."

He tried to run through the door, to get away, to hide from the horror of his friends getting tortured, but apparently the door was solid to him, for he couldn't get out. He tried the handle... his hand went right through it. He was trapped. Almost immediately after this realization, he heard a yelp of pain and whipped around to see Peck's Death Eater finish up a punch to his best friend's gut.

"NO! STOP! I COMMAND YOU TO!"

The man didn't even turn to look at him.

Phoenix's morale started to crumble like dust. He sank to his knees, put his hands over his ears, looked down at the floor... and started to cry.

Yes, Phoenix Blazen, co-leader of the now-called Los Salvadores, practically the most hyper and boisterous kid in school. The one who was half the mastermind behind most of "Team Matix's" pranks, AND the one who had survived those first two days of this Shadow Curse, was finally cracking... and crying.

"Dammit." He managed to croak out through his sobs. "Dammit!" This time a bit more forcefully.

"DAMMIT ALL! DAMN YOU, VOLDIE! DAMN YOU AND YOUR COWARD ARMY OF DEATH EATERS!"

He paused for a second and thought about what he said.

"Death Eaters, eh? Well, let's see how much death they can eat when they come face to face with me the next time I see them. THEY WON'T LAST FIVE MILLISECONDS!"

Just then a scream was emitted from one of the captives, and Phoenix looked up to find that it was Ginny this time.

"No..."

Another scream.

"No!"

A third scream, this one loudest of all.

"GOD NO! STOP IT! PLEASE! NOOOOOO-O-O-O-OOO-O!"

Towards the end of his final protest, his body started to rack with sobs again. The man continued whatever he was doing to Ginny, Phoenix couldn't bear to say what it was, even if it was only to himself. He turned to look at Hermione, she too was sobbing and begging for the Death Eater to stop. Her tormentor merely looked at her and laughed. He slowly walked up to the girl and started doing things that gave Phoenix the urge to retch.

It also made Ron start to go crazy. He began to pull on his chains rapidly and with all the force he could muster. A quick punch to the head from his Death Eater stopped that pretty darned quick.

Phoenix couldn't take it any more. He curled up into a little ball on the floor in the middle of the room, ears once again covered with his hands, and sobbed as hard as he could, the screams and yells of his friends echoing around him.

Ginny had once again noticed a change in Phoenix's posture. Like in his dream world, he was curled up and his ears were covered with his hands. She saw, much to her dismay, tears streaming out of his eyes like little rivers. She ran over to him and put her hand on his arm, but immediately withdrew it. He was practically on fire.

"POMFREY! I THINK HIS COMA HAS CHANGED AGAIN!"

As Madam Pomfrey ran over, she did pretty much the same thing that Ginny did at first, and she too recoiled in pain.

"Oh my... I'll see what I can do..."

Somehow, Ginny didn't think that Madam Pomfrey could do much, no matter how many potions she had.

Phoenix paused mid-sob. He could've sworn he felt something on his arm. But it left as quickly as it came.

'Was it Ginny? No... it can't be... she's right there in front of me. There's NO way Ginny just touched me. I can SEE her chained up to the wall and... and..." He couldn't bring himself to say that she was being beaten by the Death Eaters. Wait... there it was again... but again, it left as quickly as it came. Doubt entered his mind that this was reality, and that those touches WERE indeed someone... but he didn't feel any more after those two –were they really touches or his imagination?-, and the screams of his friends reminded him that this WAS reality. He must've died and for some reason, St. Peter decided that he had sinned or something and decided that this torture would be hell enough for him.

Phoenix looked up when he heard loose rattling and two screws clang to the floor. He saw Peck grinning, chains beside him and in his grip.

"GET HIM!"

The Death Eaters charged at him and he started to slowly but surely swing the chains around, his friends giving shouts of encouragement. He struck down the first Death Eater... and the second... but apparently he didn't see the third come up behind him. The chain-swinging stopped, making a final smack on a fourth Death Eater. The remaining conscious and un-bruised Death Eaters sort of dog-piled on Peck, who was now reverting to clawing and biting. Eventually, however, they managed to drag him over to the center, beat him up sufficiently, and kicked him aside. He curled up into a ball, much like the one Phoenix had been in. The Death Eaters looked at one another and started conversing.

"Should we kill him?"

"NO!"

Phoenix ran in front of his friend and held out his hands in a protective manner, shielding the boy from the Death Eaters.

"Yeah, I think we should."

"Please! No!"

"Together?"

"How else?"

"No..."

"AVADA KEDAVRA!"

The green bolt sped towards the boy, passed through Phoenix (who didn't feel a thing), and hit Peck, who grew limp.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOO! YOU KILLED PECK! YOU DIRTY... YOU JERKS! I CAN' BELIEVE YOU KILLED PECK!"

"Should we kill the rest?"

"Yeah... and let's do it slowly... like give them an hour before each killing so they can count down how much time they have left of life..."

"No... god no..."

"Who's next?"

"How 'bout the famous Harry Potter?"

"Shouldn't Master kill him?"

"True... alright... Ronald Weasley?"  
  
"Sounds good to me."

"Alright... The Weasel it is then... in thirty minutes."

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

That wasn't only Phoenix who yelled out the No... it was practically all the captives in the room. The Death Eaters were snickering at the reaction.

"Look at them scream... like cows in a slaughter house right when they finally realize their demise..."

And so the thirty minutes came and went. Having four of the men holding down the boy, a fifth unchained him, allowing the first four to carry him over to the center, each taking a limb. He was then beaten up so he would be helpless and unable to resist. The Death Eaters stepped back, raised their wands as one again, and killed Ron.

This time, Ginny and Hermione were the loudest out of any of them. And of course, this brought the Death Eaters' attention to them.

"Say... I had almost forgotten about the girls... how old are they? Fifteen and sixteen about? Old enough... I have a plan guys..."

Phoenix overheard the plan and this time really did retch when he heard it, watching his lunch (speaking of that, when was the last time he DID have a meal?) spew all over the floor.

Ron had been dragged over and tossed on top of Peck, apparently the base of a pile that was going to end up with all eight of his friends in it.

It appeared as if the Death Eaters were having trouble debating which girl should be... well... hurt and killed first. They finally ended up choosing Hermione first, and saving Ginny for later. However, they DID wait for thirty minutes, and in those thirty Hermione had fear, fear, and nothing but fear in her eyes. And when minute thirty-one rolled around, the Death Eaters gleefully unchained the girl and carried her over to the center of the room.

Phoenix turned his eyes at this point, curled into a ball once more, and intently blocked out as much of the screaming as he could with his hands planted firmly over his ears. However, not all the sound could be blocked out, so he still heard screaming, and he also heards cries of protest from his friends, demanding that the Death Eaters stop their evil deed.

Eventually, they did and finished off Hermione with the killing curse. Phoenix tried to throw up again, but found he had nothing to throw up.

"Don't you wish this could all go away?"

Phoenix whipped around to see Voldemort standing behind him, arms crossed and a grin on his face, which was probably rare, no doubt.

"Yes! This is hell! It's WORSE than hell! Stop it! Please!"

"Oh, but I can't stop it... after all, how can you stop reality? But I can make it all go away for YOU."

Phoenix paused and looked at him curiously.  
  
"How?"

"Well, I could kill you, and that would make it all go away..."

"But... I don't want to die..."

"Would you rather face the torture of your friends, and then more people, for the rest of your life? Or would you rather die?"

"I s'pose you have a point... but still..."

"Still what? What is so good about staying alive and having to witness THIS?"

He indicated Hermione being dragged over and tossed on top of Peck and Ron.

"Because..."

"Because what? There's no-"

"BECAUSE MAYBE I'LL FIND A WAY OUT!"

Voldemort laughed.

"Find a way out? FIND A WAY OUT? You've got to be kidding me..."

At that moment, Phoenix realized that even if he couldn't attack the Death Eaters, he sure as heck could attack Voldemort. And so he ran over to the cackling madman, a furious gleam in his eye, and did what he liked to call a "Drive-By Punch", turning around in case Voldemort counterattacked. He didn't, however, probably because he was recovering from the blow.

"That was low..."

Phoenix laughed.

"Oh? Like you're one to talk about low? You are, like, the KING of low, the ultimate monster of lowness, the lowest of the low... even lower than that."

Voldemort glared at him.

"Very well... no release from this hell for you... I hope you die from your suffering."

And with that, he vanished.

Some more yelling was heard. Phoenix's first thought was 'It hasn't been 30 minutes!'

... But then he realized that the Death Eaters wanted to torture their captives in between killings.

"Oh god... the worst is about to get even more worse..."

Ginny was looking at Phoenix fearfully. In addition to remaining curled up and hands firmly planted over his ears, the comatose boy was shaking severely, sweating horribly, and the tears were coming out like waterfalls now. And yet, she couldn't do anything: his skin still felt like it was on fire. However, she thought up a plan in the past hour. When Hagrid came in to check on Phoenix (the boy had taken an extreme liking to the half giant, even more so than Harry), she asked him if she could borrow a pair of dragonhide gloves. Of course, how could Hagrid say no to such a simple request? And now, she donned the gloves and tested Phoenix's skin. She watched in horror as a hole burned clear through the dragonhide glove and immediately withdrew her hand when she started to get a burning sensation. She grew even more horrified when she saw that several layers of her skin had been burned off after just half a second's exposure to the heat.

"Pomfrey! I need medical assistance!"

The Head Nurse walked out and looked to see what was the matter. Ginny told her what had happened and then showed the nurse her severely burned finger. Pomfrey's eyes bulged beyond what Ginny thought possible.

"Oh dear, (A/N: She seems to say that a lot, doesn't she?) that looks pretty bad. I'll see what I can do."

Meanwhile, Phoenix still had to suffer the fate that had been set before him. Neville was next in line for execution. The boy was unchained, beaten, and dragged over to the center. Now, the Neville that lay in the center of the room wasn't the Neville that was around a year ago. The Neville of the Past would've just lay there, curled up in a ball, quivering, whimpering, and waiting for his impending doom. Not this Neville. Phoenix's pride swelled slightly as the boy (whom he considered to be a sort of apprentice) started to slowly stand up and face the Death Eaters armed with wands. He glared at them and spoke in a deathly low tone.

"Do your worst, you jackasses."

And so they did... they killed him.

He was flung back from the force of all three curses sent simultaneously at him, skidded across the floor, and bumped up against the pile of his dead friends.

"Well, that makes our job a lot easier... we don't have to drag him halfway across the room."

After him was Seamus... then Dean... Phoenix turned his head when both were beaten and killed, but he still couldn't block out the yells of pain.

And then... it was Ginny's turn.

"No..."

Clink. One side of her chains had been unhooked.

"Please..."

Clink. The other side.

"God no..."

Whomp. That was Ginney falling to the floor and her head making contact with the stone.

"NO!"

Then was the steady noise of the girl being dragged to the center of the room... she wasn't even putting up a fight.

"STOP IT! STOP! NO! NO NO NO NO NO NO NO!"

Next was something Phoenix didn't care to remember, but Ginny's screams burned it into his memory forever.

"STOP! STO-O-O-OP! PLEASE! JUST GET IT OVER WITH! NO! NOOO-OOOO-OO!"

"Avada Kedavra!"

A tear escaped Phoenix's closed eyes as the green curse raced towards the battered girl. A single tear. But in that tear was all the love for the girl he held. All the sorrow he had that she was going to die. All the anger and hatred for the Death Eaters for killing her. And all-

His eyes snapped open when he didn't hear a scream. He saw white... but he also saw red.

The red hair of one Ginny Weasley that is. And this said Ginny Weasley was leaning over him, a concerned look on her face. However, inside she was giggling, wondering what he would say or do first.

"What's the group's new name?"

Okay... so maybe he wasn't the most romantic guy in the world at the moment...

"Huh? Oh. Los Salvadores."

"The Saviors... I like it..."

The boy broke out into a grin and he lunged up and held out his arms, hoping to catch the girl. However, he immediately fell back, cringing in pain.

"Ow... Okay... Not a good idea... My body is probably super stiff from... whatever happened." Try as he might, he just couldn't seem to remember anything of his trials at the moment.

"-and from being curled into a tight ball for an entire day... staying like that for so long probably isn't the best thing for your back, Mister Blazen."

"Oh? And who are you, Miss Weasley, to tell me what is good and what is bad for my back?"

"Hmm... well, I s'pose the facts that a) you've been in this said tight ball for a day, and b) you just experienced what was undoubtedly severe pain when you stretched your body and rapidly shifted positions from this tight ball... well, let's just say that the conclusion is pretty obvious."

"Okay, okay. My ego is already in shambles... you have no idea what I just went through (he was beginning to remember, and the last event was coming into his mind first, much to his dismay), so please just let me keep what's left of my ego, please?"

She laughed.

"Alright... if you want me to. But quite frankly, it's fun giving your ego a good whap."

"Fun for you... painful for me."

That day, at dinner, the tables were dead quiet, as usual. However, many an eyebrow shot up when Dumbledore stood before them at his seat at the head table.

"Students! I have been told by Madam Pomfrey..."

There was still the dead silence in the crowd, but this silence wasn't the melancholy-dead. It was more of a hold-your-breath-dead silence.

"... That Phoenix has come out of his coma, and that he is on the road to recovery."

An almighty cheer rose from the tables... except from the Slytherins, who seemed bummed that Phoenix had made it.

"In fact." He waited for the cheer to die down. "In fact, He's expected to arrive for dinner in..." he looked at his watch. "Five... four... three... two... one..."

Clink. Clink. Clink. Clink. Clink. A clinking was heard at steady intervals. Pretty much every kid had thought, even if it was for just a moment, 'Phoenix has turned into Mad-Eye Moody?' But then they saw him walk in, followed by Ginny, on crutches.

Everyone watched him tentatively. What would he say? Would he say something profound? Would he forgive them? Would he yell at them? Their questions were quickly answered when he stopped walking forward on his crutches and grinned at them all.

"I've got pro skills with these crutches!"

A/N: puts up hands defensively Now, before you shred me about how inappropriate and graphic this chapter was, it was supposed to portray Phoenix's WORST nightmare, alright? Get it? Got it? Good.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15: Goodbye For the Summer

The next few days were extremely fun ones for most of the school. Phoenix DID pay Peck the five galleons he owed him. Team Ma- sorry, Los Salvadores were back in business, and happily pranking the Slytherin House to their heart's content. Speaking of Los Salvadores, Hawk had been included in the group, thanks to Peck's ever-persisting requests that she be let in. And so they were running rampant, scoring an average of almost a prank a day. Not that many of the students minded... they were quite enjoying this torture of the Slytherins. Dumbledore seemed supremely amused about all of this, and Phoenix thought that it was because they were giving the old man nostalgic memories of when The Marauders did the same thing.

One of the more amusing pranks they did involved not just Slytherins, but the whole school. They called it "Operation: March of the Ents."

Phoenix snickered as he and his friends walked towards the point where the school grounds met the Forbidden Forest.

"This is gonna be great. It's gonna be greater than great. Heck, it's gonna be greater than greater than gr-"

"Phoenix?"

"Yes Peck?"

"Please shut up."

"But why?"

"Because we all don't want to hear your ramblings."

"We? As in all of us? But Peck, I don't think Ginny minds. Isn't that right Ginnikins?"

The girl in question blushed deeply at the blatantly embarrassing nickname.

"Uh... Phoenix?"

"Yes Ginnikins?"

"Please don't call me Ginnikins."

"But GINNIKINS! It's so terribly FUN to call you Ginnikins!"

Hermione snickered.

"Gin-"

"DON'T CALL MY GINNIKINS 'GIN'!"

This time, Harry was the one snickering.

"Why? We've always called Gin... well... Gin."

Phoenix gasped.

"I SAID DON'T CALL GINNIKINS GIN!" He paused for a moment, then spoke in a factual tone, "It sounds like she regularly drinks gin."

Everyone except for Ginny and Phoenix broke out laughing.

"Ginnikins drinking alcohol? Nah..."

"HEY! GINNIKINS IS MY NICKNAME FOR GINNIKINS!"

"But-"

"A BOYFRIEND HAS A RIGHT TO A SIGNATURE NICKNAME FOR HIS GIRL YA KNOW!"

The silence was so dead, even the crickets stopped chirping.

"She's... your girlfriend?"

Phoenix grinned proudly.

"Yup! An' she's a darned good one too! Ain't that right, Ginnikins?"

He wrapped an arm around her waist and put his head on her shoulder as they continued to walk. Ginny, however, wasn't taking all this in her stride and, if it is even possible, was blushing even more deeply than before.

"Phoenix... you're giving them information they don't need to know..."

"But why keep 'em in the dark? They ARE our friends after all."

"Does the word 'blackmail' mean anything to you?"

"Umm... no?"

Peck cleared his throat.

"Uhh... guys?"

"Yeah?"

"We've reached our destination."

Phoenix abandoned his playful tormenting of his girlfriend and rubbed his hands together.

"Muahahahahaha! This is gonna be great! This is gonna be greater than great-"

"Phoenix... let's not start that conversation over again. Now..." Peck looked at the book in his hand and started reading aloud.

"To animate inanimate objects is relatively simple, but to animate inanimate objects in ways that make them seem almost human is more complicated. It requires a little bit of Transfiguration, Charms, and of course, luck. The first step is to give the object legs. It doesn't matter what kind of legs they are, just so long as they are legs. This, obviously, is where the Transfiguration comes in. And for us, this is where Hermione comes in."

Hermione grinned.

"Ten Entish legs comin' right up."

And so, using the picture of an ent that Phoenix had so kindly provided her, Hermione commenced growing legs on various nearby trees. It took her about five minutes to finish this.

"Alright, what's next?"

"If you want, you can add arms, but they aren't necessary."

"Anything for me to get some Transfiguration practice in is great."

And so, five minutes later, the leg-bearing trees now had arms as well.

"Next?"

"Okay, now it's time to animate them. Each object needs the undivided focus of a witch or wizard, so one person can't control multiple objects. Hence, our selection of ten trees instead of fifty. Anyway, you touch your wand on the object and say 'Animatus'... Animatus? That's the dumbest incantation I'VE ever heard, but anyway... Once you're connection with the object has been established, you can remove your wand and control over the object can begin. You think what you want the object to do. For example, if you want the object to kick something, imagine it kicking the object in your mind, and the maneuver will be carried out accordingly."

And so they tried it out, each of them touching one of the transmogrified trees, saying 'Animatus', and attempting to control their tree. Phoenix and Peck were making their trees have a wrestling match (A real wrestling match, not that fake junk on WWE or whatever it's called. It annoyed Phoenix to no ends that many kids actually thought that THAT is real wrestling), Ginny, Hermione, and Hawk were having their trees play 'Tea Party', a childish idea that Ginny had thought up. Seamus, Dean, Neville, Harry, and Ron were having their trees make a tree pyramid... and failing miserably.

After they all were satisfied with their practice, they climbed into the branches of their biological machines, concealed themselves in the leaves, and started a march towards the castle.

"This is gonna be-"

"PHOENIX! SHUT UP!" That wasn't just Peck... it was everyone else too.

"I feel so loved..."

Several students who were outside, enjoying the sun and fresh air, caught sight of the "Ents" heading towards the castle.

"THE TREES ARE ALIVE!"

"... with the sound of music..." That would be Peck.

After the first call rang out, mass chaos ensued. Students scattered in every direction, more students came out to see what was the matter and then scattered in every direction. Teachers came out to see what was the matter, immediately realized it was Los Salvadores, played along, and scattered in every direction.

And so it became a game of tag. But instead of tagging the students, the pilots of the trees picked them up and put them in the branches, thus letting the captured students in on the secret. Of course, captured students decided to make it even more dramatic by screaming and yelling, as though they were being eaten alive by the Ents. After they "died", they would spot out other students for the pilots to chase. Peck made a particular effort to chase after Alexandra Whitts and snickered as he watched her run away screaming.

Finally, Dumbledore came out, and he REALLY started to mix things up. Apparently he knew an even more complicated spell than the one Peck had found, for he was able to transfigure ten trees so they too had arms and legs, but he was able to animate and control all of them from his position, which was pretty far away from the trees.

And so the Los Salvadores Ents turned to face the Dumbledore Ents, cracked their knuckles (or knots... whichever you prefer), and put up their hands in a defensive position. Phoenix and Peck varied slightly from that and had their trees go into a wrestling position, hands up and waiting to pull off a takedown and gain power over the Dumbledore Ents. The "eaten" students climbed out of the trees and ran over towards their friends, who were making a ring around the two approaching teams. Dumbledore had his Ents take a gargantuan leap and had intended for them to hit the L.S. Ents, but the opposition was trained enough to sidestep the attack with ease. Phoenix and Peck, being veterans at hand-to-hand grappling AND having the plus of only needing to focus on one Ent, did various wrestling moves on their opposing trees. Phoenix did a Fireman's Carry (that seemed to be his favorite move), and Peck did a Double Leg Takedown. The other L.S. fighters didn't know wrestling, so they did what they knew best: combat.

Unfortunately for Hawk, she hadn't been in the group for a long time and was considered to be the least experienced fighter by her friends... oh, how wrong they were. She may not have known refined combat skills, but she sure knew how to kick, and that's EXACTLY what she had her Ent do... kick as hard as it could. Let's just say that her opposing Ent learned how to fly.

Now, Dumbledore may have had the disadvantage of needing to simultaneously control ten Ents at once, but he had the advantage of age and, consequently, experience. He was focusing his attention mainly on Seamus', Dean's, and Ron's counterparts to his Ents, and he was doing a pretty good job of blocking, counterattacking, and generally beating their butt... or trunk. And now, it seemed like some sort of game match you'd see on TV, because right about then, all the kids started taking sides and were either chanting "Dumbledore... Dumbledore... Dumbledore..." or "Salvadors... Salvadors... Salvadors..." True, they bungled the Los Salvadores' name, but it was still cool to hear them cheer for the group.

Phoenix wound up taking Dumbledore's Ent like Mario would take Bowser and started to swing him in a circle as fast as he could, then let go of the Ent and sent it flying.

'Well... that's one down...' CRUNCH. 'Make that two...'

If you haven't already guessed it, Peck had successfully, although with a great deal of difficulty, snapped his opposing Ent in half, thus taking it out of commission. Even though this meant less Ents to worry about, it meant Dumbledore having more concentration on his remaining Ents and thus fighting back harder.

Phoenix and Peck figured that the most logical way to go about the battle was to team up with one of their allies so it was three against one. Those are extremely good odds for the Los Salvadores Ents, thus almost sealing the fate of the triple-teamed Dumbledore Ent, and then the next Ent would have four Los Salvadores Ents on its butt, and then the next would have five, and so forth.

This tactic worked quite well, and they took down three more so it was down to five on ten, when Dumbledore's focus got to the point where he could defeat some of the Los Salvadores Ents. Hermione was the first to go. She gave a small squeak as her Ent's trunk got sliced in half. She easily rolled out of the branches, but it was still a bummer that she was now out of the fight. Neville then became double-teamed and, even though his fighting skills were quite good, had his Ent turned into twigs and splinters.

'Oh, flying crap... Dumbledore's catching up...'

And so Dumbledore started doing the same tactics that Los Salvadores were doing... eventually, it was down to two Dumbledore Ents on five Los Salvadores Ents. Dumbledore's dynamic duo (A/N: Heh... DDD .) took out another Los Salvadores... and another... but then one of them finally was taken out. The remaining three Los Salvadores were Phoenix, Peck, and Harry. However, now Dumbledore could give his remaining Ent his full and undivided attention, and that spelled trouble in neon letters for it's three opposing combatants. With a swift kick to the middle, Harry's Ent snapped in half.

'Damn... that doesn't look good.'

However, Phoenix and Peck quickly learned to fight as a unit. When Dumbledore tried to do a quick punch to Phoenix's Ent, the boy ducked and dodged it while Peck's Ent grabbed the arm and snapped it off.

'One limb down... three to go.'

Even though it had lost an arm, the Ent was still a formidable force. Instead of the usual hand-to-hand combat that he used with the other Los Salvadores opponents, Dumbledore opted for some more creative tactics. He had his Ent leap into the air and come bearing down on Phoenix's Ent. The boy jumped to the side and, while still in midair, kicked the trunk of Dumbledore's Ent. Even though he had the Ent kick with its full force, the akward position that it was in, leaping away from the target and all, caused it only to knock Dumbledore's Ent down, at which point it was about to get up when Peck seized the opportunity and brought his Ent's fist down upon the weakened opponent.

CRACK!

The Ent gave in to the full force of Peck's blow, and all of the Los Salvadores supporters cheered. Amidst the cheering, some clapping, loudest of all, was heard. This clapping belonged to Dumbledore, who was also chuckling merrily, too.

"Well done! That was quite a show. 10 points each. That makes 90 points for Gryffindor and 10 points for Ravenclaw if I'm not mistaken."

And so the combatants dismounted their beasts and bowed. After that, the rest of the day proceeded normally, except that everyone was talking about the "Great Ent Battle"...

And so the rest of the year passed like this, until the final day came before summer. 'Twas a sad day for Phoenix & Co., 'cause it meant that it would be another whole year until they met again. Darn shame...

And so, after the Feast, Dumbledore's parting words, and several other formalities, it was time for the students to leave. They all filed through the Great Oak Doors, into the carriages, and towards the Hogwarts Express.

The train ride was also uneventful. Los Salvadores was too tired to do any pranks during the ride, and so Peck slept, Harry and Ron played chess, Hermione read some books, Seamus, Dean, and Neville traded jokes, Hawk slept on Peck's stomach (A/N: Muahahaha! Okay... spazz attack is over...)), Ginny sat across from Phoenix, eyes glazed over and staring at him, while Phoenix was polishing and cleaning his firearms.

At the doorway into the muggle world, the friends paused for a moment to say their last goodbyes.

"Well, dudes-" cough. "- and dudettes."

"Thank you."

"Anyway, I wish we could, like, stay in London or something for the summer so we could visit you guys, but home calls."

"Ah, it's no problem Phoenix. Besides, what're owls for?"

"Umm... sending messages."

"Right... and..."

"And what?"

Harry sighed.

"Phoenix... WE CAN OWL EACH OTHER!"

Phoenix blinked.

"Oh yeah... I knew that..."

"Doubtful..."

"Well anyway, so long guys... I'm gonna miss you all. 'Specially my Ginnikins."

And with that, he pulled Ginny into a tight hug, leaned down and gave her a small kiss. It may have been small, but it was filled with love, and so it was worth more than a million long-but-empty kisses. Ginny quickly pulled away when she heard not just the cheering of her friends, but of what had to be about 50 other students.

"Oh..." And she blushed deeply.

Phoenix, on the other hand, was taking all this in his stride, bowing and grinning all the while at his audience.

"THANK YOU! THANK YOU VERY MUCH!"

And so, the friends traded a few more goodbyes, Hawk and Peck made plans to visit each other over the summer. She may be living in London now, but as luck would have it, they would be moving back to the U.S. over the summer.

Finally, they walked through the doorway, into the muggle world, and into their separate lives for the summer...

A/N: Yeah... so that's the story... pretty anti-climactic, huh? Well, I've learned one thing out of all of this: never finish a story ahead of time... it's always better to do it a chapter at a time so you can take in reviewers' comments, adapt your characters, and improve your story as you go along. As opposed to making a crappy story without realizing it, getting reviews that make you realize you've got pathetically stereotypical characters, and then smack yourself because you can't do anything about it. Anyway, I think I'll write an amusing story about Typo Demons before I start my second part of this whole trilogy...


End file.
